ECHO aims to save and preserve life, prevent and alleviate human suffering, and safeguard the integrity and dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises (see Article 214 TFEU, the Humanitarian Aid Regulation​[8]​ and the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid).​[9]​
ECHO nastoji spašavati i očuvati živote, zaštititi osobni integritet i ljudsko dostojanstvo te sprečavati i ublažavati patnju ljudi pogođenih prirodnim katastrofama i onima izazvanima ljudskim djelovanjem (vidjeti članak 214.