Promises, Promises, Promises

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) advises against allocating pledged relief funds prior to receiving them. Numerous instances are cited where amounts pledged by the international community were never received. For example:

For aid to Iran after the earthquake a year ago, over $1 billion was pledged but only $17 million has actually materialized.

For aid to Honduras and Nicaragua after the devastation of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, over $8 billion was pledged but less than a third has been given.

For reconstruction of war-torn Kosovo, $410 million was pledged by the EU but only $44 million was received.

For rebuilding Rwanda, $746 million was pledged in 1995 but only $245 million was distributed by 1998.

Certainly there's uniqueness in each case where pledges don't equal contributions, so it's difficult to generalize why it occurs. However, the fact that it does occur is worthy of mention and it occurs often enough to indicate that aid recipients should be wary. It's also noteworthy that when there's a difference between the pledged amount and the amount actually received, in many cases there is a significant difference. The disparities are not minor accounting malfunctions.

My take is that during periods of high media interest and public sympathy, but prior to debate and consultation, politicians and diplomats tend to spit rhetoric and make some commitments that are unachievable.