PRESS CONFERENCE ON MYANMAR HUMANITARIAN RELIEF

 

About 30 international offers of assistance had already been received by the United Nations in response to the destruction caused by Cyclone Nargis, which had struck Myanmar, killing thousands of people, John Holmes, Emergency Relief Coordinator of the United Nations and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told correspondents in New York today.

At a Headquarters press conference to provide an update on United Nations efforts to assist victims of the cyclone, Mr. Holmes said that specific offers of financial help had been recorded from 24 countries, along with a further 6 offers of unspecified help, adding up to well over $32 million.

For its part, the United Nations would be launching a flash appeal on Friday as soon as assessments were in place, he stated.  Some people were on the ground in the Irrawaddy delta area doing those assessments.  The amount of the appeal had not yet been determined.

In addition, money would be made available from the Central Emergency Response Fund to assist the relief efforts, he continued.  A minimum of $10 million would be allocated, but the amount could rise higher, depending on the needs identified as the situation became clearer.

Mr. Holmes said that the international community was faced with a major catastrophe, in particular in the Irrawaddy delta, and that it was quite likely that the official casualty figures that had been released would continue to rise.  It was, therefore, extremely important to get as much aid as possible, as quickly as possible, to the people, particularly in the delta area.  It was particularly difficult to reach that area, because of difficulties in communications, since so much of the land remained flooded, hindering access.

Aid had started to arrive a day or two ago and was accelerating, he continued.  The World Food Programme (WFP) expected to have a plane arriving today or early tomorrow morning in Myanmar with 45 metric tons of high-energy biscuits.  It already had quite significant stocks of food in the country, which was being distributing in Yangon and outside. Other aid agencies and non-governmental organizations were also distributing food and water-purification tablets, plastic sheeting and medical supplies, where they were available.

Those efforts represented a beginning, but were clearly not up to the task at the moment, because of the difficulty of reaching the affected areas and people, he said.  The primary responsibility for the aid effort and the primary effort would be made by the Myanmar authorities, who had been stepping up efforts and were beginning to reach more and more people using transport helicopters, and so forth.

Regarding the question on the access of aid workers, Mr. Holmes said that the United Nations had been discussing the issue intensely with the Government of Myanmar both in New York and in Yangon.  Four of the five members of an initial assessment team, which had been assembled in Bangkok, would be flying to Myanmar tomorrow.  Those members were Asian nationals who did not need visas.  The fifth member had not been refused a visa, but had not yet got it in his passport.  A United Nations plane was also being organized from Brindisi, with stock from the United Nations warehouse there, to arrive in the next couple of days.  It would also take in a team.

Others aid workers were also beginning to find that they were being allowed in slowly, he went on.  In that sense, things were moving in the right direction; although, as made clear by the statement by the Secretary-General, the United Nations would like it to move much faster, both in terms of visas and in terms of rapid customs clearance of goods that were already in Myanmar in some cases, or would be arriving shortly.  In similar situations in the past, such as the Iran and Pakistan earthquakes, some of those procedures had been waived altogether, at least in the early stages.

Mr. Holmes stated that visas for staff of non-governmental organizations and non-United Nations staff were also being discussed with the authorities.  A team from the International Red Cross had already received permission to go in.

Emergency relief workers had now started to have some access to areas in the country, he continued.  In initial phases, that had been with national staff of United Nations agencies, but some international staff were now being able to move around and to get to the delta area.  There still remained some requirements about international staff being accompanied by nationals of Myanmar, but those were things being discussed with the authorities.

He said it had never been a case of people being refused visas in any kind of blanket way.  They had simply not been issued visas, and that was the obstruction that the United Nations was trying to overcome for those who needed visas.  Some nationalities did not need visas.  Also, there had been no limit placed on the number of international aid workers that could go into the country.  During the discussions, the explanation given for the delay in issuing visas had been that it was a question the officers needed to refer to higher authority.

In the discussions with the Government, when the scale of the disaster had become clear, it had welcomed international assistance pretty rapidly, he said.  That was the basis on which the United Nations had been operating so far.  The Government had also welcomed the idea of the flash appeal.  Thus, the cooperation was reasonable and heading in the right direction.

In response to a correspondent’s question on the suggestion that the United Nations should invoke “the right to protect” to force the Government to accept international assistance, he stated that he did not think it would help, at the moment, to embark on what could be seen, at least by some people, as being on a confrontational path.  The United Nations was having useful and constructive discussions with the authorities and things were moving in the right direction, even though the United Nations wanted it to move faster.

In any situation like this, the Government, as the sovereign authority, was in charge of the aid efforts, he explained.  What the United Nations tried to do was to support the Government’s aid efforts as much as possible.  The present situation was no different from any other disaster, in that sense.

Responding on why it would take up to Friday for the flash appeal to be launched, Mr. Holmes said that, given the circumstances and difficulties of getting to the delta area, the launch on Friday did not amount to a delay.  Most flash appeals tended to take longer than that.  The appeal needed to be based on some quick and rather crude assessment, to determine how many people were affected and what was really needed in terms of food, clean water, medical help and shelter.  The real priorities also needed to be identified and, unless that was done, the appeal would not have credibility.

He added that the disaster was likely to have significant effect in terms of food supply inside Myanmar, but that the broader effect on the region or at the international level was likely to be limited.

The United Nations would, as much as possible, monitor the assistance it was giving to make sure that it reached those it was intended for and that it was not diverted for any other kind of reason, he stated.  That was what the Organization did all over the world.  Also, the length of stay of the United Nations aid workers in Myanmar would depend on how long the crisis lasted, he said.

Also during the briefing, Mr. Holmes read out a statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, in which he expressed concern about the continuing tragedy in Myanmar and emphasized the importance of providing as much assistance as possible in the vital first few days following the cyclone’s impact.  The statement welcomed the news that some United Nations aid officials would be allowed into Myanmar tomorrow and said that it would assist assessment and prioritization efforts.  It urged the Government to respond to the outpouring of international support and solidarity by facilitating the arrival of aid workers and the clearance of relief supplies in every way possible, saying that that would significantly aid the Government in responding to the tragedy.  (Issued as Press Release SG/SM/11552)

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