9 March 2006
Statement on the occasion of the launch of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)
Statement by Ambassador Caroline Millar
Chargé d’Affaires
Australian Mission to the United Nations
(Check against delivery)
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to announce that the Australian Government will provide A$10 million in 2006 to the United Nation’s Central Emergency Response Fund. This contribution underscores our support to the CERF in ensuring a more predictable and timely international response to humanitarian crises and under-funded emergencies.
Our support to the CERF supplements Australia’s direct humanitarian support to vulnerable populations affected by natural disasters and complex emergencies. In the past year this has included humanitarian assistance in response to the Pakistan earthquake, landslides in the Philippines, drought in the Horn of Africa and the ongoing crisis in Darfur, as well as the many smaller emergencies that take place in the Asia-Pacific region.
We consider the CERF an important element of the humanitarian reform agenda that is currently being implemented. However, we recognise very clearly that the CERF will not, on its own, improve humanitarian response. Efforts to improve coordination and response capacity are also of critical and equal importance.
We look forward to working with the UN and other stakeholders to ensure the implementation of all aspects of the humanitarian reform agenda, including the CERF which we are here to launch today.
Thank you