On behalf of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), let me first thank you for the opportunity to speak on this most important item.
We are reminded of its urgency daily, as we read the covers of our newspapers, and are moved by stories of survival, loss, suffering and hope, from Kashmir to Aceh, to the Sahel and Southern Africa, and to the Gulf Coast and beyond.
Indeed, 2005 has shown the dramatic impact that disasters continue to have on lives, livelihoods and hard-won development gains. Climate change, environmental degradation, and unsustainable development, coupled with inadequate mitigation efforts, suggest that the number of people and assets affected by disasters will continue to rise.
Moreover, as demonstrated by Hurricane Katrina, the vulnerable - notably the poor, the sick, the elderly and the marginalised - pay the largest price, in rich and poor countries alike.
Mr. President, Mark Twain once wrote: "Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform." In celebrating the United Nations' 60th birthday, Member States have found the impetus for change, and the UN's provision of disaster and humanitarian relief is benefiting from such attention.
The IFRC welcomes efforts to strengthen the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the UN. Our eight decades of experience in disaster relief have taught us that effective coordination is a key to success - for all.
We very much value our close collaboration and coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in complex emergencies where armed conflict and natural disasters unite in their destructive forces. No single organization can tackle the increasing challenges posed by disasters alone. We must work together for their benefit first and foremost.
Mr. President, The IFRC also welcomes the strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief of the UN as a trusted partner of the UN system. While our humanitarian principles guide us to work independently and with utmost neutrality, we value our cooperation with UN Member States and recognise that coordination with UN agencies, funds and programs adds to our effectiveness.
At the national level, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are recognised under law as auxiliaries to their Governments. Internationally, the IFRC collaborates with components of the UN on activities of joint-interest. Our coordination with the UN at headquarters and at field level is further enabled by our relationship with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and by our standing invitation on the InterAgency Standing Committee.
A few examples of our collaboration can be found in Southern Africa and the Sahel, where we distribute food with the World Food Programme, in the Caribbean and Central America where we prepare annually for the hurricane season through joint contingency planning, in Tsunami-affected countries where we work with the United Nations Development Programme to develop coherent disaster management plans, and at headquarters, where we are active members of the Global Consortium on Tsunami.
Mr. President, Reform provides many opportunities. The IFRC welcomes the decisions set forth in the Outcome Document of the 2005 World Summit, and supports efforts to ensure greater predictability of humanitarian action, funding, and access.
We would like to provide just a few comments thereupon, while also noting our support for the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council, and our hope to continue playing a role in this forum. The "cluster approach", which aims to improve the predictability of humanitarian action by organizing coordination on a sectoral basis is being utilised for the first time in response to the South Asia Earthquake.
So far, it appears that this new approach has helped identify common challenges and sectoral gaps and has focused relief on meeting humanitarian needs - not on the work of any one agency. At the same time however, the cluster approach may have made a holistic response to disasters more difficult - and even detracted attention from other disasters (such as the devastation caused by Hurricane Stan in Central America).
We believe that these mixed results will need to be assessed when the critical emergency phase is over.
The IFRC also welcomes efforts to strengthen coordination of relief provided by the UN at the field level, by strengthening the roles of the humanitarian/resident coordinator (HC/RC). While the IFRC operates in an independent manner, it coordinates its work closely with the UN and specifically with the HC/RC.
Most importantly however, the IFRC supports efforts by countries to strengthen their own capacities to prepare for and respond rapidly to natural disasters and to mitigate their impact. This is not only at the centre of our work as auxiliaries to these Governments and at the heart of our philosophy to "mobilise the power of humanity".
This is also based on recognition that improved national and local capacities enable coordination of national and international humanitarian actors alike.
The development of regional structures, such as the Pan-American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU) and the Regional Disaster Response Team (RDRT) have proven equally successful in helping us respond to the Hurricanes in Central America and to the South Asia Earthquake.
Mr. President, The IFRC also welcomes UN efforts to improve the predictability of humanitarian funding, including the creation of a Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). The IFRC's own fund, called the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF), helps us to immediately deploy resources to respond to disasters, even before donors assess their ability to pledge support.
IFRC hopes that the CERF will bring additional resources, and not cause the reallocation of funds from other important program areas. We also hope the CERF will provide particular support for neglected and sudden-onset emergencies and equally for neglected - but most essential - programming, such as disaster preparedness.
Paradoxically, there is a continued lack of adequate funding for preparedness. It continues to be easier to mobilise support for post-disaster responses than for preparedness and mitigation activities that could avoid the loss of life and the destruction of vital assets.
Disaster preparedness has for a long time been a core activity of the IFRC, and as such, we welcome the United Nations' focus on developing a culture of prevention.
Mr. President, We believe that strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief must be done holistically - as disaster management itself. This means that coordination must be strengthened during all phases, from response, to recovery, to preparedness and development.
As we have stressed before, preparedness and a culture of prevention are keys to effective relief. Coordination structures must therefore be set up before a disaster - and also be formed to specifically build disaster preparedness and early warning systems.
Via their network of volunteers, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies participate in the development of multi-hazard early warning systems - which are not slumbering systems but the ensemble of activities that strengthen the resilience of communities.
Volunteers translate warning signals into a suitable "language" for wide dissemination and community response. Because effective humanitarian and disaster relief depends equally on sustainable development, coordination should span the medium-term and long-term phase as well. IFRC actively cooperates with the UN on progress towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
Partnerships with WHO to address measles and malaria in Africa and with UN AIDS to reduce stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS are good examples of this. IFRC also sustains recovery efforts during the long-term when needed, as evidenced by the on-going work of the Chernobyl Humanitarian Assistance and Rehabilitation Programme (CHARP), nineteen years after the disaster.
The IFRC has maintained its coordination with the UN throughout this time, and is a prominent member of two UN initiatives (the 'International Chernobyl Research and Information Network' and the 'Cooperation for Rehabilitation of living conditions in Chernobyl affected areas in Belarus'), which seek to promote sustainable development of regions affected by the Chernobyl disaster.
The IFRC welcomes today's adoption of the Resolution on Chernobyl, and looks forward to next year's anniversary, to keep it alive.
Mr. President, We believe that to strengthen the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief, coordination must be inclusive of a myriad of actors. Naturally, national authorities lead this coordination effort with possible support of the United Nations system and other international organizations.
Of utmost importance however, is for coordination to include affected communities, capturing their roles as first responders and capitalising on their resilience. Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, with their expertise in disaster response, extensive reach into vulnerable communities, and auxiliary relationship to governments are ideal partners for governments to this end.
Early engagement with National Societies at the national and local levels can greatly improve collaboration and results during the relief effort - as well as ongoing support at the community level, on a wide range of activities, from reducing greenhouse gases to planning for evacuations.
To conclude, Mr. President, Opportunities for positive change are within reach. The IFRC supports efforts to strengthen the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief of the UN, as a partner, and in the name of our shared beneficiaries. Indeed, we consider it one of this Assembly's most important priorities.
Our staff and volunteers remind us daily - as you so ably do yourself - that success is measured in our actions, and notably in our ability to alleviate human suffering. It is mindful of the very realities outside of this august hall, that we urge Member States to give consideration to the wide-ranging impact of such reform.