4 December 2008
Statement by Ms Catherine Walker, Deputy Director General
Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) to the High-level Conference on the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)
(As delivered)
Mr Secretary-General
Mr Under-Secretary-General
Excellencies
Distinguished delegates
I am honoured to have the opportunity to speak today on behalf of the Australian Government. Australia is proud to be a committed donor to the CERF.
We welcome the presence of so many member states here today for this conference, demonstrating our shared commitment to the CERF.
In this time of financial turmoil, it is tempting for us, as individuals and as countries, to look inwards and focus only on the impact of the global crisis on our own interests.
Yet our presence here today shows that we have not done this.
We know that as difficult as the months ahead may prove for many of us, the daily crises faced by victims of disaster are of a different magnitude altogether.
We must not forget those who are struggling to recover from events not of their making. Humanitarian assistance helps the most vulnerable to rebuild their lives.
Demands for humanitarian assistance have continued to rise over the last year. Increased food prices contributed to sharply increased food insecurity in many parts of the world. Natural disasters, especially those linked to climate-related hazards, had devastating consequences in many regions of the world.
Millions of people in countries affected by conflict remained dependent on international assistance to meet their basic needs.
Regrettably, there are reasons to expect the demand for humanitarian assistance will continue to increase in the years ahead. To face these challenges, it is crucial that we, the international community, work together.
The CERF is one of our most important tools for working together, to ensure timely assistance gets to those who need it.
Since its launch in March 2006, the CERF has clearly demonstrated its value. The fund has disbursed over US$1 billion to help victims of emergencies in 65 countries. In just a few short years CERF has earned our respect and our support.
One of the key strengths of the CERF is that it can provide help to disaster areas without delay. And we know that the earlier the intervention, the better the outcomes for individuals and for their communities.
We encourage further streamlining of procedures to ensure timely and effective responses.
We also welcome the steps which have been taken to strengthen OCHA’s resources for managing the CERF, ensuring the Emergency Relief Coordinator receives strong analysis and advice.
Strengthening the humanitarian coordinator system is particularly important. An effective humanitarian coordinator is central to a successful, well-targeted humanitarian response.
We congratulate OCHA on efforts made this year to strengthen the skills of resident coordinators and humanitarian coordinators, and encourage further investment in the years ahead.
Australia welcomed the independent evaluation of the CERF carried out earlier this year. The findings confirm that the CERF has proven its value in enabling a more rapid and comprehensive humanitarian response by the international community, and in improving field-level coordination and prioritisation.
The evaluation findings also highlighted the importance of further strengthening CERF processes, management arrangements and quality assurance.
We welcome OCHA’s management response to the evaluation and look forward to working with OCHA in the implementation of priority actions, together with other CERF partners.
Distinguished delegates
We welcome the increasing number of contributors to CERF from both developing and developed countries, and from the private sector. This broad donor-base helps ensure the long-term financial security of the CERF, and more importantly, demonstrates that CERF belongs to all of us.
In these difficult times, we need to increase our financial commitments, to enable the CERF to build on its success and maintain its important role.
In this context, I am pleased to announce that Australia will contribute A$12 million to CERF for 2009.
This is a twenty per cent increase on Australia’s pledge last year. Our increased contribution reflects our commitment to the CERF’s objectives, and our strong support for the role of the UN in humanitarian response.
The Australian Government intends to further increase our contributions to CERF in the coming years.
We also look forward to signing a partnership framework with Mr Holmes tomorrow, which commits Australia to provide steadily increasing core contributions to OCHA over the next four years.
Australia also recognises that investing in disaster risk reduction and preparedness can save both money and lives. In this context, Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, together with Indonesia’s President Yudhoyono, announced on 22 November that a new Australia-Indonesia Disaster Reduction Facility in Jakarta would be established.
This Facility will support Indonesia’s and the region’s efforts to reduce the impact of disasters, and to improve self-management capabilities through training and outreach. It will collaborate closely with the UN and other key regional and international organisations.
Our increasing support for the UN’s humanitarian work and regional capacity-building also reflects Australia’s commitment to working to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Only this week, Australia’s Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, told the Australian Parliament:
“In this time of global economic downturn, which inevitably has its greatest impact on the world’s poorest people, we reaffirm, as a government and as a nation, our commitment to the MDGs and urge other nations also to lift their efforts to these crucially important goals”.
Distinguished delegates
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledges the vital contribution Under-Secretary-General Holmes and his team at OCHA continue to make in enabling CERF to become one of the United Nations’ success stories.
We also recognise the important work of UN operational agencies, key international organisations such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and NGOs, in delivering humanitarian assistance in challenging settings across the globe.
We acknowledge the central role of national governments and local organisations and communities, who are almost always the first and most important responder to any emergency.
In partnership, with tools like the CERF, we can make a difference to the lives of the people in desperate need of assistance, and reduce the impact of humanitarian emergencies on communities across the world.
Thank you.