PRESS CONFERENCE ON CENTRAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND

PRESS CONFERENCE ON CENTRAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND

With the official launch of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) by the Secretary-General this morning, United Nations humanitarian relief would be quicker, more predictable and flexible for the forgotten and neglected victims of disaster and conflict, Jan Egeland, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference today.

Joined by Keith Mitchell, the Prime Minister of Grenada, Mr. Egeland said the Fund, the first big fund to go through as a part of the Secretary-General’s reform proposal, would help countries like disaster-stricken Grenada, one of the founding donors.

At the start of this morning’s meeting, $216 million had already been pledged towards the Fund, he said.  In the course of the morning, the Fund had received pledges of $14 million.  In all, 36 donors from around the world had pledged $256 million.  With $50 million in a “loan window”, the Fund was more than halfway towards meeting its start-up goal of $500 million.

The effects of the Fund would be immediate, he said.  The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was currently preparing the first allocations from the Fund, to the devastating drought that was hitting the Horn of Africa, including Kenya.  An allocation was also being prepared for western Côte d’Ivoire, where humanitarian offices had gone up in flames and the civilian population had been severely abused.

He said the Fund would respond both to sudden disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, and to deteriorating manmade conflicts.  It would also be used twice a year to inject equity into a system that was, at the moment, totally unbalanced.  As Emergency Relief Coordinator, his life was to send around a hat; each time there was a new crisis.  That hat came back full or empty.  Following the hurricane that had devastated Grenada, the hat had come back empty.  Predictability was needed, and the Fund was a step in the right direction.

OCHA would be accountable and transparent in administering the Fund, he said.  In that regard, a website already been set up, recording contributions and allocations by the Fund.  [http://cerf.un.org]

As a first hand witness to the devastating effects of a natural disaster, Mr. Mitchell said he was proud to represent his country and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) at the Fund’s launch.  It was an extremely important and proactive step for dealing with disasters, such as the disaster caused by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

He said he was a living example of a person who had seen his country destroyed overnight.  Indeed, Grenada had faced almost total destruction, with half of the population left homeless.  Farms, hotels and schools had been completely destroyed.  Unfortunately, many of the initial offers of support had never materialized.  Shortly after Hurricane Ivan, the Indian Ocean tsunami had hit and Grenada had been forgotten.

Today, while the country had recovered, it still faced many problems, including the psychological aftermath of the storm, he said.  Many families were still living with other families, putting a tremendous strain on family units. 

The Caribbean region faced a continuous level of natural disasters, he said.  About 60 per cent of Guyana had been flooded in the last few months, devastating that country’s economy.  In that regard, there was an absolute need for a fund, from which countries could receive serious support in time of natural disasters, and not wait for the hat to be passed around, hoping it came back full.

Responding to a question on the Fund’s administration, Mr. Egeland said the Fund would have a three-person secretariat.  He would be the one to make decisions, on delegated authority from the Secretary-General.  An advisory board, comprised of Member States and experts, would advise the Fund and keep it accountable.  The Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly would also advise the Fund.  All of OCHA, country teams and the humanitarian coordinators, would be used to prioritize requests.  He had already asked the team in Côte d’Ivoire to set up a list of priorities.  He had done the same for the Horn of Africa.

Asked whether he was happy with the way CERF was supposed to function, Mr. Mitchell said he hoped the pledges to the Fund would materialize.  The implementation process would also be crucial.  He liked the concept of a group of persons assessing needs and making decisions.  Again, the question was how the Fund would be implemented in practical terms.

Given the extent of the devastation, how receptive did that make the people of Grenada to the anti-western rhetoric coming out of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean? a correspondent asked.

Responding, Mr. Mitchell said his country had received support from countries around the globe.  Cooperation among nations, not antagonism, was needed.  Grenada would urge cooperation and not rhetoric.  That was Grenada’s position.  The people of Grenada were concerned about building their live, and were looking to friends, regionally and internationally, to help them.

In response to a question on Darfur, Mr. Egeland said humanitarian workers looked, with great frustration and anxiety, on how to provide security for the civilian population.  The only reason there had not been a massive loss of life predicted in Darfur, was because of the 14,000 humanitarian workers there.  They were now retreating, however, “hanging on by our finger nails” and slipping.  A dramatic increase in the loss of life could be seen very soon.  In that regard, he appealed for an agreement on security, and a political solution.  The current situation was unsustainable, and the lives of three million people hung in the balance.

Asked whether $500 million was enough, he said that should be enough to do initial emergency work the day after a disaster.

The Fund would not be applied in Darfur, he added.  The appeal for Darfur alone was bigger than the entire CERF.  Non-governmental organizations were leaving Darfur, and the Government was not helping.  He had thought it would have been better with the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) in the coalition Government, but that had not been the case.  The situation was as bad as before, in terms of administrative obstacles to humanitarian work.  Humanitarian workers were being fired at, harassed and even hijacked at unprecedented levels every day.  2005 had been a fantastic year for humanitarian work in Darfur, with hundreds of thousands of lives having been saved.  In 2006, that work was slipping.

Responding to a question on the Horn of Africa, he said it was now a work in progress.  He had already instructed people on the ground in Kenya to prioritize the needs to set up an operation.  Kenya was in an acute situation, as it did not have an operation.  Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea were a little better off, as they already had operations.  Some $30 million would be needed for initial operations.  Billions of dollars would be needed collectively.  He expected two allocations -- one immediately for common services and another as a regional appeal was launched -- which, he hoped, would be finalized in the next weeks.  All the teams in the region were working on that appeal.

Having the money would save a lot of time, he said, in response to another question.  It took, on average, three months from the time OCHA sounded the alarm to the time that it received money.  In situations like Grenada, the alarm had been sounded, but not heard.

Among the pledges to the Fund, he said $17 million had been pledged by Canada, $10 million by the United States and $12 million from the Netherlands.  Thailand, Indonesia and Kazakhstan had also made pledges.  With its pledge of $70 million, the biggest donor was the United Kingdom.

Asked whether there would be a specific allocation for natural disasters in the Caribbean, he said the Fund would not have regional or subregional accounts.  He hoped the Caribbean would be spared in 2006.  2005 had been the worst year in the history books and there were predictions that 2006 would be equally harsh.

He said there had been two non-national donors to the Fund, including the Hyogo Prefecture, the seat of which is Kobe, site of the January 2005 World Conference on Disaster Reduction, and the Disaster Resource Network.  They would campaign for more private sector donations.  The private sector was interested in contributing more.  He expected the CERF to get most of the $256 million soon.  As of this morning, $76 million was already in the bank.

Asked whether States would be allowed to put conditions on their money, he said the Fund would receive unconditional money.  Today was an emotional day for him, as he had been campaigning for the Fund for one year.  A part of the Secretary-General’s reform package, it was the first big Fund to go through, and a sign that the world was getting better, not worse, in its ability to do humanitarian relief work.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record