Statement by Michael Schulz, Permanent Observer a.i. to the United Nations, in the Plenary of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to take part in this important debate on behalf of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
The IFRC shares the concerns of Member States regarding the serious situation for many millions of vulnerable people in villages and poor urban communities around the globe and recognises the importance of addressing these in partnership and collaboration.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent community addressed very similar issues at the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in November last year, a conference where all States were present and joined their National Red Cross / Red Crescent Society colleagues in adopting a declaration “Together for Humanity” which is very much to the point of this discussion on effective coordination.
We agree that the increasing frequency and intensity of disasters as described in the Secretary-General’s report is a disturbing trend that requires urgent attention both in terms of improving our local, national, regional and international response capabilities but more importantly in terms of addressing disaster risk reduction.
This is perhaps most apparent when considering the dramatic impacts of climate change, the global food crisis and the recent financial turmoil.
Mr President, IFRC has identified a number of key operational challenges facing the international humanitarian community.
We are seeing an increase in the overall number of emergencies, especially in Africa; in the number of floods and weather-related disasters in all regions and an increase in health emergencies and epidemics related to flooding, especially in Africa.
We are also seeing a significant increase in the number of small-scale disasters that do not trigger international disaster responses or emergency appeals.
We are seeing the nature of international response operations changing with an emerging role for regional organisations and mechanisms and reluctance by some countries to accept unsolicited external assistance.
Both these situations occurred recently in Myanmar and presented IFRC with the challenge of rapidly developing regional Red Cross and Crescent mechanism which could match and work alongside the arrangements being designed and put in place by ASEAN Governments.
We have also observed that in the delta region of Myanmar international resources were not provided at the levels that some members of the international community considered necessary.
It was quickly apparent to us that it is important for all concerned that as clear an understanding as possible is available of the coping mechanisms that can be and are being used in the affected area. One such coping mechanism in this case was the Myanmar Red Cross Society, which had teams of trained volunteers on the spot, familiar with the affected communities and their needs.
That leads us to the necessity of ensuring that all humanitarian and indeed development actions are implemented in such a way as to encourage and support the building of safe and resilient communities and to ensure that disaster risk reduction takes place in this context.
Mr. President, almost 15 years ago, in May 1994, the global humanitarian community recognised in the Yokohama World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction that while disasters are obviously related to hazards of one kind or another, they derive their force from the vulnerability of people and the communities in which they live to these hazards.
We have come a long way in understanding and addressing these vulnerabilities, at community level as well as at the national and international level. But much more needs to be done to strengthen the resilience of people and their communities.
In the meantime, as stated earlier, the hazards have not stabilised but rather increased and are expected to further accelerate in the coming decades before greenhouse gas emission reductions will have their effect.
This underlines the urgency to increase the humanitarian capacities to respond to disasters that cannot be avoided in the short term while we likewise increase the capacities of individuals, families, communities and countries to better understand and address the risks associated with climate change and to be better protected in the short and medium term.
The current negotiations in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change for a new agreement to be completed in Copenhagen in December 2009 provide a welcome and necessary opportunity to strengthen the integration of climate risk management in overall disaster risk management and improved coherence with longer term development processes.
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has worked closely with humanitarian and development organisations in the UN system and with NGOs to prepare a joint vision for the upcoming Poznan Conference of Parties on how existing humanitarian and disaster risk reduction organisations, policies and measures can help to improve the resilience of people.
A further step in this process is to establish dialogue at the national level between the humanitarian, disaster risk reduction sector and the climate change policy makers and knowledge centres.
With the increased interdependence of the world today we have to improve our understanding of the potential risks of what may seem a local fire to become a regional or even global disaster.
The interaction of trends like climate change, spread of diseases, population pressure, peoples’ movements, the energy crisis and interdependence of economies increases our vulnerabilities and those of the most vulnerable; the poorest of the poor.
President, the IFRC welcomes the UN Secretary General’s call for multi-year commitment to humanitarian funding.
We are pleased that the call is not limited to CERF, as that mechanism is not accessed by agencies beyond the UN family plus IOM.
There is, however, a clear need for predictable humanitarian funding for humanitarian actors that are not part of the UN system, such as IFRC and others.
We therefore also welcome the keen willingness of OCHA to initiate dialogue with IFRC on humanitarian funding. This dialogue recognises that the IFRC’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) and the UN’s CERF are complementary funding mechanisms and both deserve donor support because of that complementarity.
IFRC further welcomes the Secretary-General's call for an increased allocation of funding to disaster risk reduction activities including preparedness and early recovery.
This is particularly required to increase community level disaster risk reduction activities and the building of safe and resilient communities. This will facilitate achieving the objectives and priorities of the Hyogo Framework for Action and the Millennium Development Goals.
In a similar vein we would stress the importance of further enhancing the contingency planning process at a national level in such a way that it recognises the important roles played by Government, National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the UN and civil society.
We have seen time and time again the effectiveness of such contingency planning particularly when linked with improved partnership and elements of the humanitarian reform process. Good examples are available and I will mention today the Caribbean, Mozambique and Bangladesh.
President, IFRC has over recent years spoken of the progress of its work under the heading “International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles (IDRL)”.
This year, it is with great satisfaction that we can bring to your attention the adoption in 2007 at the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, by States and National Societies sitting together, of Guidelines for the Facilitation and Regulation of International Disaster Relief and Initial Recovery Assistance.
The Guidelines are already helping governments to prepare themselves both to enable and to effectively monitor and coordinate the international assistance they request.
Experience has shown that good planning in this area can greatly reduce technical problems, such as restrictions and delays in customs, visas, transport permissions and tax exemption procedures, that can otherwise seriously undermine the speed and effectiveness of aid provided to stricken communities.
It also empowers governments to ensure that international assistance is of appropriate quality and complements their own efforts to assist those in need.
Realizing this, a number of governments have already begun to use the Guidelines proactively to examine their legal preparedness for international relief.
Working with a very wide range of partners, including the United Nations, Specialised Agencies, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and key regional organizations, IFRC and its member National Societies are developing innovative projects and practical tools to support governments in this task.
As pointed out by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in his report, this body can make an important contribution by promoting the active attention of its members to the issues raised in the Guidelines.
We were very pleased that ECOSOC saw the adoption of the Guidelines as of significance and included a reference to them in its humanitarian coordination, 2008/5, this year, and it is our hope that the General Assembly will share this view.