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CERF 2014 High Level Conference

Wednesday, 17 December 2014
Presenter: 
Amb. Lana Z Nusseibeh
Location: 
UN - ECOSOC

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Excellencies...                   

 

Madam Chair,

Thank you for bringing us together today.  You have been an invaluable partner to the UAE and our region as we all respond to the rising pressure to provide aid in very challenging circumstances.  I would also like to take this opportunity to offer our sincere thanks to the UN staff around the world, who put themselves at risk to assist people when they most need relief or protection.

 

Madam Chair,

We are very grateful for your able leadership of the fund, and for the transparency that the Central Emergency Response Fund operates with; it establishes a process by which humanitarian requirements are assessed, incorporating financial analysis with vulnerability data, in order to create a more rounded vision of needs and timing for the delivery of emergency aid.

 

While one of the principal objectives of CERF is to shine a spotlight on forgotten emergencies, it is also responsible for channeling funds toward protracted crises that fail to attract sufficient resources. I would like to stress the need for concerted action by the international community to help the refugees and the vulnerable around the world as we come up to the winter months, particularly those in refugee camps.  

 

Madam Chair,

The UAE urges the humanitarian community in 2015, including CERF, to focus more on developing innovative ways to deploy aid, to include strengthening preventative measures in areas where crises occur, and to move away from types of assistance that can generate over-reliance on aid. We believe that this is achievable, in part, through increasing the capabilities of countries prone to crisis to deal with humanitarian situations.

 

Madam Chair,

Today we celebrate the good work that CERF has done in the over 88 countries it has operated in this year, and commit ourselves to helping

OCHA continue to provide rapid, effective and efficient humanitarian aid.

 

I am pleased to announce that the UAE will increase its contribution of $100,000 to CERF in 2014 to $1 Million USD for 2015.  Again, Madam Chair, I take the opportunity of your last CERF High-Level Conference to thank you for your leadership. Please know that your impact has been significant and is sincerely appreciated.

 

Thank you, Madam Chair.