Jan Egeland
Encyclopedia
Jan Egeland was the United Nations
Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
from June 2003 to December 2006. Egeland was appointed by Secretary-General
Kofi Annan
and succeeded Kenzo Oshima
. He traveled extensively, drawing attention to humanitarian emergencies.
Egeland took up the position as director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
on September 1, 2007. Egeland also holds a post as Professor II at the University of Stavanger
.
from the University of Oslo
. He has been a Fulbright Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley
and a fellow at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and The Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace, Jerusalem.
Egeland assumed his post as the Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) 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 has also been Chair of Amnesty International
in Norway, and Vice-Chair of the International Executive Committee of Amnesty International, which he was elected on to 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 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 person
s 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
.
His impartiality in the Lebanon conflict as an honest broker is being questioned by Hezbollah and various other groups in Lebanon. He has been accused by the Lebanese government and media of not focusing sufficiently on the humanitarian crises on Lebanon , while being critical about rocket attacks on Israel. 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 civilian structures," though he also has referred to the Israeli strikes as "a violation of humanitarian law,".
On July 28, 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". Israel later agreed to a 48-hour halt of bombing, while reserving the right to take action against targets preparing attacks.
He is married, and has two daughters. In 2006, Time magazine
named him one of the 100 "people who shape our world".
In 2008 Egeland published a memoir A Billion Lives: An Eyewitness Report from the Frontlines of Humanity about his time at the UN from 2003-2006.
He has published a number of reports, studies and articles on conflict resolution, humanitarian affairs and human rights.
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." According to Egeland, in his memoir A Billion Lives (2008), this "stingy" quote was taken out of context by the press as directed at tsunami relief, when in fact Egeland was addressing the long and ongoing drive by the UN for all OECD nations to contribute 0.7% of GNP to humanitarian efforts. Initial response by the White House to Egeland's quote, taken out of context by the press as a direct attack on the United States (which at the time had only donated $15 million), was very negative. However, Egeland subsequently clarified his remarks, and all was forgiven, although Egeland became the focus of a negative campaign online. However the "stingy" quote did in fact help increase the number of donations. Egeland was later 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." Time magazine would later call Egeland "the world's conscience."
by Israeli forces and subsequent displacement of many thousands of refugees.
Egeland, though critical of Israel, lashed out against Hezbollah in terms that no UN official had dared yet, saying:
In 2007, the Norwegian TV channel TV2
aired a documentary entitled De hvite hjelperne (The white helpers) with footage and research from Malawi concerning the Norwegian Red Cross's donation of hundreds of Norwegian army surplus M621 trucks. The documentary highlighted the trucks' primitive construction and poor condition, and general uselessness to the Malawi community. Although Egeland and the Red Cross declared this operation a success, the trucks were little more than scrap metal.
In March 2008, TV2 aired another documentary entitld Sultbløffen (The famine scam) about the 2005–06 Niger food crisis. Then-UN relief coordinator Egeland and several others were accused of bluffing and of blowing the situation out of proportion.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator is a high level position in the United Nations that heads the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs....
from June 2003 to December 2006. Egeland was appointed by Secretary-General
Secretary-General
-International intergovernmental organizations:-International nongovernmental organizations:-Sports governing bodies:...
Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
and succeeded Kenzo Oshima
Kenzo Oshima
is the Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations. He is the former United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. He is the recipient of a law degree from University of Tokyo....
. He traveled extensively, drawing attention to humanitarian emergencies.
Egeland took up the position as director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
NUPI
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs or NUPI is a Norwegian government agency and research organisation based in Oslo.- NUPI's Background :...
on September 1, 2007. Egeland also holds a post as Professor II at the University of Stavanger
University of Stavanger
The University of Stavanger is located in Stavanger, Norway and has about 8,500 students and 1200 administration, faculty and service staff. It is organised in three faculties, including two national centres of expertise. It includes 107 professors, and more than 150 of the academic staff hold...
.
Biography
Egeland holds a Magister Artium in Political SciencePolitical science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from the University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
. He has been a Fulbright Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and a fellow at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and The Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace, Jerusalem.
Egeland assumed his post as the Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) in August 2003. This position is the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs , is a United Nations body formed in December 1991 by General Assembly Resolution 46/182...
(OCHA). He was preceded in the post by Kenzo Oshima
Kenzo Oshima
is the Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations. He is the former United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. He is the recipient of a law degree from University of Tokyo....
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Prior to becoming the head of OCHA, Egeland was the Secretary General of the Norwegian Red Cross
Norwegian Red Cross
The Norwegian Red Cross was founded September 22, 1865 by prime minister Frederik Stang. In 1907 the Norwegian Ministry of Defence authorized the organization for voluntary medical aid in war...
. From 1999 to 2002, he was the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. Egeland's career also includes service to his government as State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the foreign ministry of the Kingdom of Norway...
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 has also been Chair of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
in Norway, and Vice-Chair of the International Executive Committee of Amnesty International, which he was elected on to 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
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
(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
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) guerrillas
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
signed in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
in 1996. He also led the host delegation when the Ottawa Treaty
Ottawa Treaty
The Ottawa Treaty or the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, officially known as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, aims at eliminating anti-personnel landmines around the world. , there were 158...
to ban landmines
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
was successfully negotiated and adopted in Oslo in 1997.
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
Lord's Resistance Army
The Lord's Resistance Army insurgency is an ongoing guerrilla campaign waged since 1987 by the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group, operating mainly in northern Uganda, but also in South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo...
insurgency in northern Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, the Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
region in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where millions of displaced person
Displaced person
A displaced person is a person who has been forced to leave his or her native place, a phenomenon known as forced migration.- Origin of term :...
s 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
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, as well as raising awareness in issues such as gender mainstreaming, sexual exploitation and violence, and internal displacement
Internally displaced person
An internally displaced person is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the current legal definition of a refugee. At the end of 2006 it was estimated there were...
.
His impartiality in the Lebanon conflict as an honest broker is being questioned by Hezbollah and various other groups in Lebanon. He has been accused by the Lebanese government and media of not focusing sufficiently on the humanitarian crises on Lebanon , while being critical about rocket attacks on Israel. 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 civilian structures," though he also has referred to the Israeli strikes as "a violation of humanitarian law,".
On July 28, 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". Israel later agreed to a 48-hour halt of bombing, while reserving the right to take action against targets preparing attacks.
He is married, and has two daughters. In 2006, Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
named him one of the 100 "people who shape our world".
In 2008 Egeland published a memoir A Billion Lives: An Eyewitness Report from the Frontlines of Humanity about his time at the UN from 2003-2006.
He has published a number of reports, studies and articles on conflict resolution, humanitarian affairs and human rights.
Tsunami relief
On December 27, 2004, during the initial phase of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
relief effort, Egeland said that "Christmastime should remind many Western countries
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
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
Gross National Income
The GNI consists of: the personal consumption expenditures, the gross private investment, the government consumption expenditures, the net income from assets abroad , and the gross exports of goods and services, after deducting two components: the gross imports of goods and services, and the...
, I think that is stingy, really." According to Egeland, in his memoir A Billion Lives (2008), this "stingy" quote was taken out of context by the press as directed at tsunami relief, when in fact Egeland was addressing the long and ongoing drive by the UN for all OECD nations to contribute 0.7% of GNP to humanitarian efforts. Initial response by the White House to Egeland's quote, taken out of context by the press as a direct attack on the United States (which at the time had only donated $15 million), was very negative. However, Egeland subsequently clarified his remarks, and all was forgiven, although Egeland became the focus of a negative campaign online. However the "stingy" quote did in fact help increase the number of donations. Egeland was later 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." Time magazine would later call Egeland "the world's conscience."
Lebanese aid
In July 2006, Egeland launched a US$150m aid appeal for Lebanon, following the destruction of parts of LebanonLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
by Israeli forces and subsequent displacement of many thousands of refugees.
Egeland, though critical of Israel, lashed out against Hezbollah in terms that no UN official had dared yet, saying:
Consistently, from the Hezbollah heartland, my message was that Hezbollah must stop this cowardly blending ... among women and children. 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.
Gaza violence
During a visit to Gaza to survey the damage, 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]," Egeland told reporters. "Civilian infrastructure is protected. The law is very clear. You cannot have any interpretation in any other way."Criticism
Egeland has been criticized for the way he handles relief programs.In 2007, the Norwegian TV channel TV2
TV 2 (Norway)
TV 2 is the largest commercial television station in Norway. Over 30% of the time Norwegians spend watching TV is spent watching TV 2. The station has 65% of the market for TV commercials in Norway....
aired a documentary entitled De hvite hjelperne (The white helpers) with footage and research from Malawi concerning the Norwegian Red Cross's donation of hundreds of Norwegian army surplus M621 trucks. The documentary highlighted the trucks' primitive construction and poor condition, and general uselessness to the Malawi community. Although Egeland and the Red Cross declared this operation a success, the trucks were little more than scrap metal.
In March 2008, TV2 aired another documentary entitld Sultbløffen (The famine scam) about the 2005–06 Niger food crisis. Then-UN relief coordinator Egeland and several others were accused of bluffing and of blowing the situation out of proportion.