Jan Egeland

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Jan Egeland (born November 22, 1957) was the United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator from 2003 to 2006. Norwegian paper Aftenposten reported on 25 January 2007, that Egeland met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, discussing a possible post as advisor in conflict negociations. According to the paper, the post is due to be formalized in February 2007. [3]Born in Norway, he is prominent in several diplomatic initiatives sponsored by the Norwegian government, as well as human rights and humanitarian relief organizations.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Under-Secretary-General 2.1 Sudan's government 2.2 2004 tsunami relief 2.3 Lebanese aid 2.4 Gaza Violence 3 Notes and references 4 External links

[edit] Biography

Egeland was appointed Undersecretary-General (USG) for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) in June 2003 by Secretary-General Kofi Annan and succeeded Kenzo Oshima. Egeland assumed his post as in August 2003. This position is the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). He was preceded in the post by Kenzo Oshima of Japan.

Prior to becoming the head of OCHA, Egeland was the Secretary General of the Norwegian Red Cross. From 1999 to 2002, he was the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Colombia. Egeland's career also includes service to his government as State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1990 to 1997. In that capacity, he initiated two Norwegian Emergency Preparedness Systems, which have provided more than 2,000 experts and humanitarian workers to international organizations. He also been Chair of Amnesty International in Norway, and Vice-Chair of the International Executive Committee of Amnesty International. He was elected on to Amnesty's IEC at the age of 23, the youngest ever to hold the position. He served as Director for the International Department of the Norwegian Red Cross, Head of Development Studies at the Henry Dunant Institute in Geneva and a radio and television international news reporter for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.

Egeland has actively participated in a number of peace processes. He co-initiated and co-organized the Norwegian channel between Israel and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1992, which led to the Oslo Accord (Declaration of Principles) of September 1993. He directed the Norwegian facilitation of the United Nations-led peace talks leading up to ceasefire agreement between the Government of Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) guerrillas signed in Oslo in 1996. He also led the host delegation when the Ottawa Treaty to ban landmines was successfully negotiated and adopted in Oslo in 1997.

Egeland holds a Magister Artium in Political Science from the University of Oslo. He has been a Fulbright Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley and a fellow at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo and the Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace, Jerusalem.

He has published a number of reports, studies and articles on conflict resolution, humanitarian affairs and human rights.

In 2006, Time magazine named him one of the 100 "people who shape our world". In their article about him they proposed to change his job title to the World's Conscience. They ended the article by saying "You will surely hear his voice when our conscience needs a little reminder" (a reference to his statements after the tsunami disaster).^[1]

In mid-2006, Egeland announced that he would be stepping down from his UN post at the end of the year, before his mandate expires in March 2007. He stated that the main reason was so he could spend more time with his family in Oslo: "My problem is that the best places to work are likely outside Norway, while the best place to live in the world is Norway."^[2]

On December 15, 2006, Jan Egeland was portrayed on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams news broadcast as a person in their regualar series, entitled "Make a Difference". He was the first non-private person - more a public person - who was chosen to be a people who is making a difference. [4]

Egeland is married to Anne Kristin Sydnes.

[edit] Under-Secretary-General

Egeland has focused his efforts in alleviating the needs of this sector of the population in complex emergency situations like the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency in northern Uganda, the Darfur region in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where millions of displaced persons are affected. He has also campaigned for addressing the needs of those affected by natural disasters, like the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, as well as raising awareness in issues such as gender mainstreaming, sexual exploitation and violence, and internal displacement.

[edit] Sudan's government

The Sudanese government has banned Jan Egeland, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, from visiting the Darfur region.[5]

[edit] 2004 tsunami relief

On December 27, 2004, during the initial phase of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake relief effort, Egeland said that "Christmastime should remind many Western countries how rich we have become, and if actually the foreign assistance of many countries now is 0.1 or 0.2 percent of their gross national income, I think that is stingy, really."^[3]

The remark was criticized by the U.S. government under George W. Bush. While some took offense to the comment, others supported it; The New York Times wrote that "Egeland was right on target." Disaster aid pledges from the U.S. increased rapidly. Egeland was quoted as saying that the donations were so large and were coming in so fast that "We really have to confirm that we heard right, that the number of zeroes was right." When reviewing the tangible, if non-monetary, assistance of the militaries of the United States, Australia, and other nations in providing disaster relief, Egeland remarked, "Those helicopters are worth their weight in gold now."

However, this comment was also in reference to the phenomenon where nations give substantial aid in times of conflict, but are "stingy" in development aid that would ultimately reduce the casualties and lasting effects of such natural disasters. The .1 percent of GDP is a direct reference to the Millennium development goals official target of 0.7 percent of GDP from all able nations, a statistic the United States and many other nations have failed to attain. (Jan Egeland, Distinguished Lecture Series, Columbia University, November 30th, 2006)

[edit] Lebanese aid

In July 2006, Egeland launched a $150m US aid appeal for Lebanon, following the destruction of parts of Lebanon by Israeli forces and subsequent displacement of many thousands of refugees.

As mentioned in his official biography ^[4], Jan Egeland studied at Truman Institute for the Advancement for Peace in Jerusalem. His impartiality in the Lebanon conflict as an honest broker is being questioned by Hezbollah and various other groups in Lebanon. In a United Kingdom Channel 4 interview Egeland laid the blame on the crisis in Lebanon on Hezbollah who he said "Hide amongst the civilian population and which gives the Israeli air force no choice but to attack civilan structures," ^[5] he also has referred to the Israeli strikes as "a violation of humanitarian law".

On 28 July 2006, he proposed a 72-hour cease fire between Israel and Hezbollah in order for emergency relief to move the wounded and get food and medical supplies into the war zone. Israel rejected the proposal, claiming that the humanitarian corridor it opened to and from Lebanon was sufficient for the purpose. Egeland responded that "Hizbollah is not necessarily the biggest obstacle to an agreement".^[6] Israel later agreed to a 48-hour halt of bombing, while reserving the right to take action against targets preparing attacks. ^[7].

Egeland, though critical of Israel too, lashed out against Hezbollah in terms that no UN official has dared yet. "Consistently, from the Hezbollah heartland, my message was that Hezbollah must stop this cowardly blending ... among women and children," he said. "I heard they were proud because they lost very few fighters and that it was the civilians bearing the brunt of this. I don't think anyone should be proud of having many more children and women dead than armed men. We need a cessation of hostilities because this is a war where civilians are paying the price."^[8]

Later, on August 10, Egeland, criticised both Israel and Hezbollah for hindering access to southern Lebanon, calling the situation a "disgrace".^[9].

[edit] Gaza Violence

During a visit to Gaza to survey the damage, Mr Egeland was quoted as saying that the bombing of a power plant would affect schools and hospitals more than the militants. "This is very clear, a disproportionate use [of power]," Mr Egeland told reporters. "Civilian infrastructure is protected. The law is very clear. You cannot have any interpretation in any other way."^[10]

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

• Secretary-General Appoints Jan Egeland of Norway New Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, UN press release in 2003
• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Preceded by Kenzo Oshima (Japan)

Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator 2003–2006

Succeeded by John Holmes (United Kingdom)