The recent Tsunami in south-east Asia was one of the largest natural disasters of modern history. International response to the tsunami has been equally unprecedented. Despite nearly 200,000 casualties to date, it is clear that these numbers would have been much larger had it not been the for the $977 million worth of funds, food and supplies that were donated by countries, international organizations, NGOs, businesses and individuals from all over the world. The magnitude of the tsunami and the size and complexity of the United Nation’s relief effort has demonstrated the interconnectedness of all global citizens today, regardless of class, religion, or country of origin. It has also demonstrated the critical role the United Nations plays in rapidly responding to and coordinating world-wide relief efforts in response to humanitarian disasters that transcend national borders and that would overwhelm the capacity of even wealthy nations.

The UN provided rapid humanitarian aid within the first 48 hours of the crisis, helped coordinate $717 million in international aid, and developed a comprehensive analysis of the severity of the disaster in a record five days.  Ultimately, large-scale humanitarian disasters, like the recent tsunami or the ongoing genocide in Darfur, require the wide scope and organizational power of the UN, but also the full involvement of donor countries, NGOs and local governments and civil society.

While the UN has been instrumental in coordinating international relief efforts, there is still plenty of scope for improvement in United Nations operations. One way in which the UN can improve its reaction time in future crises is through the development of a permanent, integrated UN humanitarian relief capacity that would be able to mobilize at a moment’s notice to respond to emerging humanitarian crises. The creation of a United Nations Emergency Peace Service (UNEPS) - a corps of volunteers that would allow the UN to begin responding to incipient crises before they become large scale humanitarian disasters.

Similarly, more attention should be placed on the development of a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) that would enable communication and information sharing amongst all of the world’s existing and future systems of environmental monitoring. Through this global cooperation of satellites, water and land-based environmental tracking systems, the GEOSS would monitor water and air quality, track pollution and global warming, A global earth warning system such as GEOSS could not only have anticipated the initial tsunami in Indonesia, but might have been able to save the tens of thousands in surrounding nations who were hit many hours later. Furthermore, although the tsunami itself could not have been prevented, the GEOSS would bring awareness about global pollution, which might help in preventing natural disasters in the future. The UN actively sponsors the development of a global warning system, as does the U.S., but currently more focus has been placed on expanding the western tsunami warning system currently in place. While we applaud the U.S.’s efforts to include the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea in its existing tsunami detection mechanism, we urge the US government and governments throughout the world to commit to GEOSS.

Without downplaying the significance and severity of the tsunami disaster, we can use our response to evaluate how future humanitarian disasters should be handled. There are several lessons the tsunami has taught us. First, the the United Nations will continue to be an essential partner to national governments and NGOs in the organization and coordination of world-wide relief efforts. The development of a UN Emergency Peace Service would further aid with the efficiency and speed of a response to various crises. Finally, the development of a global environmental warning system will aid in global communication of environmental disasters, and would help monitor the water, temperature and air quality from locations around the world.  These three elements, if used in conjunction, will be invaluable in the prevention, cooperation and response to any future large-scale humanitarian disasters.


Updated April 17, 2006