UNV for Arauca Field Office

The departments of Arauca and North Santander share border with Venezuela and both have an historical presence of non-State armed groups, including the FARC-EP, ELN and Post Demobilized Armed Groups, and are epicentres of the Government’s military and political efforts to regain territorial control and secure oil extraction. Arauca and North Santander have cross-border population movements and smuggling and difficult access as a result of security conditions and the physical environment. The situation of social and political instability in neighbouring Venezuela has resulted since August 2016 in increased population movements, deportations, border closures which have negatively impacted the populations’ access to basic services. Non-State armed groups accompany their military actions with practices designed to exert social control, the use and recruitment of children and adolescents, extortions, and the regulation and participation in drug trafficking and contraband smuggling. Humanitarian consequences include Displacements, affectations from the presence of antipersonnel mines and UXO, mobility restriction and confinement of populations (frequently from the presence of mines and social control).

In this challenging operational context, OCHA leadership has been fundamental in bringing humanitarian partners together as well as setting the bases to create resilience of local institutions. The deployment of a staff member in Arauca has strengthened coordination services, humanitarian information and increased humanitarian response. Given the limited resources of OCHA since 2015, the only way to support humanitarian field coordination in such a strategic department is through an experienced UN volunteer (UNV) funded by SDC since July 2015 that SDC will finance for a second year as of July 2016.

Support the humanitarian architecture, to assure the provision of strengthened coordination services as well as timely humanitarian information and increased humanitarian response.

Members of the humanitarian architecture in Arauca (NNGOs, INGOs, UN Agencies, Donors, State Institutions) as well as peace building and development actors such as UNDP.

Objectives and products planned to be achieved by the UNV during the assignment in the following areas: coordination; information management, humanitarian funding, and advocacy. For further details, see section 3.

Expected results:  

The UNV has coordinated the Local Coordination Team in Arauca, led different Multi-sectorial Initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA); maintained communication channel with  humanitarian donors in the department; established coordination mechanisms and bilateral dialogue with all the relevant institutional actors in the Department, granted support to local and national emergency response mechanisms seeking complementarity especially during the Colombian-Venezuelan´s border crisis; established the analysis’ framework of the local dynamics causing humanitarian impact within the Department; constant monitoring of the pool funding in the Department; sensitized authorities on the humanitarian context in the department and on specific subjects; produced reports and develop messaging that enables HCT to make informed decisions.

Results from previous phases:  

The UNV has managed to secure the field presence of OCHA, contributing to the coordination between humanitarian, peace building and development actors and also with local government institution in the department of Arauca. In the last 10 months SDC's support in Arauca through a UNV has been of significant strategic value for the coordination in the area, supporting the work of the Local Coordination Team. SDC’s support to coordination in Arauca in 2016-17 though a UNV position within the OCHA office is crucial to be sustained for an additional year. For further details, see section 3 and annex 3.

With pooled funds CBPF and CERF. Furthermore OCHA will facilitate the complementarity and synergies with interventions carried out by the members of the humanitarian architecture in Arauca (Local Humanitarian Team).

Phase 2 15.06.2016 - 14.07.2017   (Completed)