UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS STARTS TWO-DAY MISSION IN SRI LANKA

UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS

STARTS TWO-DAY MISSION IN SRI LANKA

COLOMBO/NEW YORK, 11 October (OCHA) -- United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, this morning, 11 October, on a two-day mission.

The purpose of this mission is to review the coordination of international humanitarian assistance in the wake of last December’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean, with a focus on facilitating the smooth transition from relief to recovery activities.

In Sri Lanka today, Mr. Egeland held meetings with Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka; Tilak Ranavirajah, Chairman of the Task Force for Relief (TAFOR); and Rohini Nanayakkara, Chief Executive Officer of the Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN).

Mr. Egeland also met with the Global Consortium on Tsunami Recovery, including representatives from United Nations agencies, international financial institutions, Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA), which represents non-governmental organizations in Sri Lanka; and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC).  He also held a meeting with international and national non-governmental organizations and civil society, as well as several informal meetings with the United Nations Humanitarian/Resident Coordinator, Miguel Bermeo, and his team.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA- New York, tel.:  +1 917 367 5126, mobile:  +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA- New York, tel.:  +1 917 367 9262; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, tel.:  +41 22 917 2653, mobile:  +41 79 473 4570.

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For information media • not an official record