IASC Principals are the heads of all IASC member agencies or their representatives.

They meet twice a year in conferences chaired by the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), Mr. Stephen O'Brien, usually in April and December. For urgent matters, the IASC Principals can schedule ad hoc meetings.

»  Responsibilities of IASC Principals:

• making strategic and policy decisions which have system-wide implications;
• endorsing major operational decisions, particularly with respect to implementation of the Transformative Agenda (TA);
• arbitration where no consensus can be reached at the Working Group or Emergency Directors levels;
• advocating common humanitarian principles, collectively or individually, on behalf of the IASC;
• approving the general work programme of the IASC, the WG, and the EDG;
• bringing issues to the attention of the Secretary-General and the Security Council, through the ERC; and
• designating Humanitarian Coordinators and selecting coordination arrangements.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator, supported by the IASC Secretariat, consults IASC member agencies on the agenda for IASC Principals Meetings.

IASC Principals meeting December 2016, hosted by UNICEF and UNHCR, Photo credit: UNHCR/Susan Hopper

IASC Principals meeting June, Washinton, D. C., hosted by InterAction