AMAN holds its annual conference entitled “Political Integrity in Crisis and Disaster Management in Palestine”
AMAN recommends developing a comprehensive national public policy and decentralizing crisis and disaster risk management
Ramallah/Gaza: The Coalition for Integrity and Accountability (AMAN) held its annual conference entitled: “Political Integrity in Crisis and Disaster Management in Palestine” as part of its contribution to developing policies, plans, and systems for emergency and crisis preparedness and response and ensuring their efficiency and effectiveness, including making decisions in accordance with the public interest, ensuring proper management of available resources and bearing burdens fairly, and emphasizing the collective responsibility of all components: Official, civil and grassroots.
The first session focused on the conceptual framework for disaster and crisis management, including national policy frameworks and strategies for responding to emergencies and crises, addressing the current reality and challenges facing the disaster, crisis and emergency management system in Palestine, and ways to develop it and strengthen the governance system in its management in order to serve the public interest. The second session covered integrity and effectiveness in humanitarian response operations, the organization of assistance resulting from the genocide in the Gaza Strip, and the institutionalization of the emergency management system and its governance at the local level.
Openness of decision makers to all parts of the political spectrum
The conference began with a speech by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aman Coalition, Mr. Abdul Qader Al-Husseini, in which he expressed his concern for the existential turns that the Palestinian cause is going through from the ongoing genocide, and the rise of the extreme right-wing government in the occupation, which increased blood and hatred, and further targeting the system of governance, infrastructure, administrative and service structures, and everything that can strengthen the steadfastness of citizens on the ground. Al-Husseini called for unifying energies according to a comprehensive national strategy to confront the imminent danger, saying: “The critical moment in which we live imposes grave responsibilities on all of us, on top of which is the preservation of civil peace and respect for the rule of law.” He also stressed that the stage also requires decision-makers to open up more to all components of the political spectrum and formulate a comprehensive national vision that expresses the aspirations of all, calling for thinking in terms of the state of institutions and rebuilding trust between the citizen and the official level.
Al-Husseini also called for putting aside differences, putting our internal house in order, giving preference to the language of dialogue, and hastening to end the state of division with serious political will, in preparation for renewing the legitimacy of the political system through comprehensive elections, calling for an end to the absence of democratic practice in the management of public affairs, and emphasizing the urgent need for a legislative council that monitors performance, holds the executive authority accountable for its performance, and infuses the spirit of the people into the structures and joints of the state.
The preparation of preemptive plans to face crises and disasters
Al-Husseini emphasized that strengthening political integrity in crisis and disaster management is an absolute necessity, noting that emergencies, exceptional circumstances, and political and security instability create a fertile environment in which corruption thrives and the logic of self-salvation prevails over the voice of reason, calling in turn for some steps to be taken, such as proactive plans that anticipate crises and disasters and prepare to deal with them flexibly and wisely, away from improvisation or emotion. and disasters, and prepare to deal with them flexibly and wisely, away from improvisation or emotion, and refer to a cohesive relief and support system, based on integrity and transparency, that complies with best practices, to ensure that our people are supported and relieved according to clear, effective and comprehensive response priorities that take into account the most difficult scenarios, whether in the wounded Gaza Strip or in the grief-stricken West Bank.
Ministry of the Interior: “Effective response requires integration, not quotas”
In turn, the Deputy Minister of Interior, Mr. Malik Taha, affirmed Palestine's commitment to the Sendai Framework for Disaster and Risk Reduction, which the State of Palestine joined in 2015, noting that the Ministry periodically reviews regulatory and legal frameworks with the aim of ensuring a system that reduces the consequences of disasters, in partnership with the Supreme Council for Civil Defense, in addition to the enhanced investment in the national infrastructure for sustainability, awareness programs and partnerships with local municipalities to achieve general community awareness, and finally raising the level of readiness, response and preparedness to effectively address it, through institutional integration with all “Response means integration, not quotas.”
Preparation and readiness are ongoing processes that require strengthening the readiness of the community and all official, private and local organizations
Nasser Oweidat, Community Accountability Coordinator at AMAN Coalition, presented the first paper, “Building and Strengthening Integrity in Crisis and Emergency Situations,” which aims to provide a general guiding framework for strengthening integrity in crisis and emergency situations, by focusing on developing and strengthening organizational and institutional frameworks and processes that ensure integrity, transparency, and accountability in the preparation and response phases in particular.
Oweidat presented a comprehensive conceptual framework for preparing and responding to crisis and emergency conditions, emphasizing that preparation and readiness are continuous processes that require enhancing the readiness of society and institutions, and fully preparing for potential disasters by building capacities, enhancing resilience, and ensuring readiness for rapid and effective intervention. He explained that these efforts contribute to minimizing losses and enhancing the community's ability to recover while involving civil society and local communities in these efforts. The paper also emphasized the importance of social accountability, which ensures that humanitarian responses are implemented efficiently and transparently, in line with the needs of affected communities, stressing that this requires a public policy adopted by the government for crisis and disaster management that clarifies the roles of all parties and means of coordination among them.
The importance of decentralization and integrity in governance at the central and local levels
The paper reviewed two main themes: They are: Adopting a decentralized approach to balance the roles of the government and local capabilities, with a focus on local bodies, popular committees, chambers of commerce, and local community institutions, and the importance of combining the efforts of the police, civil defense, and volunteers to fill any potential decline in the role of central institutions. The second theme focused on the importance of integrity in governance at the central and local levels in disaster and crisis management, considering that promoting integrity values is integral to crisis response frameworks. The paper called for raising societal awareness of the importance of integrity as a national interest linked to strengthening steadfastness and social cohesion and strengthening the unity of the Palestinian people in the face of Israeli aggression, noting that the absence of political integrity may lead to deepening divisions and obstructing national efforts.
National Response and Preparedness System Pillars
The paper put forward a set of basic pillars for building an integrated system for national preparedness and response to crises and emergencies, most notably the development of national policies based on the principles of good governance, which enhances cooperation between the various components to respond to crises, an effective institutional system that intersects with government sectoral responsibilities at all levels, and the development of frameworks and plans that ensure effective coordination between the government, governorates, and local bodies. In addition to empowering local bodies, civil society, popular committees, and chambers of commerce to increase their effectiveness in responding to crises, and finally, including a system of integrity and transparency in the preparation and planning stages, with continuous evaluation to develop future responses.
Building capacity and ensuring readiness accelerates early recovery
The paper also addresses the priorities of strengthening integrity across the preparation and response phases, starting with preparedness, which focuses on building capacity and ensuring readiness for rapid intervention that minimizes losses and enhances the ability of society to recover, followed by a short-term response that promotes integrity values such as solidarity and community cohesion, strengthening the home front to ensure an effective and fair response in meeting the needs of those affected, a medium-term reaction based on building trust and supporting stability, and finally a long-term recovery response based on a commitment to integrity, transparency, accountability and rewarding those who are affected.
Identifying gaps helps address them, save lives and meet the needs of those affected
Researcher Somoud Barghouti, Research and Monitoring Coordinator at Aman Coalition, presented the second paper, which aimed to examine the reality of the preparedness and response system for facing disasters, crises and emergencies in Palestine, by identifying the emergency measures taken immediately before, during or immediately after disasters to save lives, minimize health impacts, ensure public safety and meet the basic living needs of affected citizens, at the level of the general national policy, legislative framework and appropriate necessary institutional structures, and identifying gaps and challenges within this framework.
The centralized approach to managing and implementing response plans has proven ineffective
The paper summarized the challenges facing the preparedness and response system, whether at the level of legislation or at the level of institutional and policy structures, on top of which is the continued centralized approach based on the government to manage and implement response plans, which is considered weak in meeting the needs, especially due to the Israeli policy restricting the role of the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip and its movement between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In addition to the lack of a ready and comprehensive database of Palestinian civil records, which constitutes an obstacle for official institutions to fulfill their role, especially since Israel destroyed ministries and official institutions and their infrastructure, which led to a decline in the rule of law and the ability of central governmental and official institutions to play their role or coordinate between them and effective institutions on the ground, which consequently weakened the response mechanism, in addition to the absence of an updated and accurate information and database for citizens most in need and their exchange between all relevant parties to ensure that assistance reaches its beneficiaries based on complementarity rather than duplication.
Local authorities are the main players in responding to crises and emergencies
The paper recommended the adoption of decentralization in responding to crises, emergencies and disasters as an alternative to the government's central role based on government committees, ministries, official bodies, and governors, where the activation of decentralization is based on relying on local bodies as a key player in mobilizing local capabilities and voluntary work with the participation of the local community, civil society institutions, national forces and factions, and zakat committees, in addition to the need to expand the effective local frameworks involved in dealing with the effects of disasters.
The paper also recommended that the government adopt a national public policy for risk and disaster management, strengthen the government's supervisory role in preparation, response, and supervision of its implementation, rely on the National Center for Disaster Risk Management under the supervision of the Prime Minister, adopt a Palestinian law for disaster risk management, provide and manage a public civil information database and databases for citizens most in need, facilitate access to them, ensure the sustainability of financial resources and budgets allocated for disaster and emergency plans, and hold international organizations accountable to ensure the integrity of staff and transparency of procedures
Civil Defense: The occupation is the first obstacle that prevents an effective response
Dr. Omar Al-Bazzour, Deputy Director General of Civil Defense in the West Bank, commented that the occupation is the first obstacle that prevents an effective response, through its checkpoints that close cities and villages in the West Bank and turn them into isolated areas, in addition to the occupation's obstruction of the access of Civil Defense personnel to various areas of the West Bank, noting that the occupation and its settlers constantly attack the Civil Defense crews and equipment, knowing that the number of the agency's staff as a whole is only 1400 members and that the decentralized approach in some areas that are exposed to settler violence, as in Huwwara and Mughayer, proved its effectiveness.
Al-Bazzour added that the Civil Defense Service cooperates internationally and receives training and support from both Arab and European countries, explaining that it has coordinated with UN civil defense agencies to bring the necessary equipment to the Gaza Strip. Al-Bazzour also explained the role played by the Supreme Council for Civil Defense in developing national plans and implementing policies and strategies to reduce the risk of disasters, noting that the agency oversees joint operations rooms between governors and local emergency committees in the regions. Al-Bazzour also noted that areas under the occupation municipality, such as Kafr Aqab, lack the minimum level of public safety. Al-Bazzour made a number of recommendations, chief among them: Increasing specialized teams, such as medical teams or rapid assessment teams, to overcome the shortage of the limited human resources of the Civil Defense, the importance of training and qualifying new and volunteer cadres, and identifying the missing equipment in order to quickly import it.
Various comments
Mr. Nidal Asri, Head of the Risk and Crisis Management Unit at the Ministry of Interior, stated that the Ministry is in the process of developing the strategic plan prepared by the Risk and Disaster Center, inviting everyone to submit proposals that enhance this proposal, and emphasizing the importance of collective action.
Dr. Hamdi Al-Khawaja, Director General of Planning and Policy at the Anti-Corruption Commission, stressed joint coordination in disaster management, between the field, the decision maker, the existence of a sufficient budget, and cadres implementing in the field from official, non-official, and grassroots institutions. He also emphasized the need for open databases with the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the need to conduct an assessment of all institutions that provide services based on the emergency situation, in addition to evaluating the emergency policy, agenda, and plan, and the importance of strengthening internal control and addressing complaints and reports submitted by the public.
Bakr al-Turkmani of the Independent Commission for Human Rights in the Gaza Strip criticized the government's failure to declare the Gaza Strip a disaster area until now and also denounced the taxes levied on all inputs in the Gaza Strip, including service transactions such as passport transactions and others.
Dr. Azmi Al-Shuaibi, Advisor to the Board of Directors of AMAN Coalition for Anti-Corruption Affairs, commented that the Palestinian government insists on following the same approach in managing previous emergencies and crises (the Corona pandemic), which relies mainly on the formation of government committees, with the involvement of governors, despite the lack of success of this approach or method in getting out of the crises optimally, and not taking lessons from the experience of the Corona pandemic. Al-Shuaibi also called for activating the National Center for Disaster Risk Management, headed by the Prime Minister, and developing a comprehensive and approved national policy for crisis and disaster risk management, as well as allocating an emergency budget responsive to the emergency that the Palestinian people are going through, stressing that local bodies are best suited to implement decentralized relief operations, as they are elected at the local level, as public policies must be developed centrally, and the implementation framework is later transferred to the local community.
Lack of preparedness at the local level to manage aid distribution in the Gaza Strip
In the second session, Wael Baalousha, Director of AMAN's office in the Gaza Strip, presented a paper that aimed to examine the general reality of humanitarian response operations and aid distribution in the Gaza Strip, the role of official, private and international parties in meeting the required needs, and means of coordinating efforts between actors to ensure effectiveness and justice in delivering aid to beneficiaries. The paper summarized that the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip revealed the extent of the inability of international institutions and organizations to help displaced persons and civilians, and revealed the extent of the Israeli occupation's influence and its ability to enjoy impunity for continuing to prevent thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from receiving aid and exposing them to mass murder due to hunger, in addition to targeting Palestinian civilian police forces and protection committees that try to secure aid to create chaos and confusion and deprive citizens of opportunities to receive aid.
A “unified portal” for beneficiary and aid data in the Gaza Strip
The paper also criticized the lack of a “unified portal” for beneficiary and aid data in the Gaza Strip, which is expected to be supervised by the Ministries of Social Development and Relief, to serve as a reference for all institutions, whether UN, private or civil society, through which humanitarian aid is distributed to ensure justice, comprehensiveness and non-duplication. The paper recommended the need to develop a frame of reference that includes the development of an integrated national preparedness plan that ensures the rapid identification of vulnerable groups during emergencies, prioritizing needs according to the nature of the crisis, establishing mechanisms for coordination between all intervening parties, defining the tasks of each party during the crisis, appropriate monitoring mechanisms and the parties responsible for their implementation.
The paper called for continuing to hold the Israeli occupation accountable and put pressure on it to force it to enter humanitarian aid in double numbers to save what can be saved in Gaza, to alleviate the state of starvation suffered by the displaced people in the Gaza Strip, and to protect humanitarian convoys to reach the targeted groups, which will contribute to the delivery of aid to the beneficiaries and enhance the ability of local and international institutions to achieve humanitarian response through fair, dignified and impartial access to the beneficiaries.
Giving a greater role to local authorities in managing emergencies
Dr. Abdul Rahim Taha presented a final paper, entitled: “Institutionalizing the Emergency Management and Governance System at the Local Level,” in which he talked about the emergency situation that the Palestinian territories witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which showed the weakness of the existing institutional system to face and manage disasters and emergencies, in addition to the unclear competencies assigned to the different entities in this field, as there were multiple bodies and entities related to the response to this emergency situation, and multiple entities that collected and distributed aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the emergency management and aid distribution faced many challenges, and were marred by the absence of a system for collecting and distributing aid.
The paper also recommended shifting from a system of administrative centralization in the implementation of procedures related to emergency response to an administrative decentralization system, by giving a greater role to local authorities in managing and responding to emergencies in a manner consistent with international standards on how to manage emergencies on the one hand, and taking into account the specificity of the Palestinian situation on the other hand, so that the local authority in each community is the one who leads the management of emergency situations, in coordination with various segments of the local community, and that this administration is characterized by good governance, by promoting the values of integrity, transparency and accountability systems in its work.
Various comments
Hanadi Brahma, head of the national plan file at the Ministry of Social Development, said that 200 employees work in the Gaza Strip to provide relief to citizens and distribute aid to needy families fairly. She pointed out that there is a national registry as a reference for all international and local partners, stressing that partnership is not only in setting priorities but also in collecting data.
The Director General of Projects at the Ministry of Local Government, Muayad Shehadeh, said that the Palestinian government has a decentralized experience in the governorates of Tulkarem and Jenin, where it allocated budgets to address the damage caused by the escalating and continuous occupation incursions there, as it later worked on developing a detailed mechanism for emergency committees from the local community, including public safety committees, local authorities, popular committee and civil defense as a key partner to repair public damage related to infrastructure, and special damage such as medical and food items, and provide them to citizens as soon as possible.
Rania Abu Ayyash, Advisor to the Minister of Relief Affairs for External and International Relations, explained that the Ministry's role is to achieve a comprehensive and complete relief system during crises and disasters, which is a coordinating role, and where implementation is entrusted to other relevant institutions. She also pointed out the openness to receive any recommendations, complaints and opinions from individual citizens and other institutions, stressing that civil society institutions constitute an important and original role of work, cooperation and integration with official institutions.
