Ireland pledges €10m emergency aid
The Irish Government today pledged €10m to a new United Nations emergency fund for humanitarian aid.
Minister of State Conor Lenihan said the money would be made available to the revamped Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which was intended to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies within days.
Mr Lenihan said last weekend’s earthquake in Pakistan served to remind everyone of the need to equip the UN to respond quickly and comprehensively to major humanitarian emergencies.
“My announcement today is a clear recognition of that and it shows that Ireland is willing to play its part, not just in responding to emergencies as they occur but in strengthening the international community’s capacity to respond,” he said.
“Ireland and the UK jointly commissioned an independent report that has helped shape this new mechanism to enhance international response to sudden-onset emergencies.”
Mr Lenihan said Jan Egeland, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which would administer the new fund, has been presented with an outline of how it will operate.
“I and my officials have been in contact with Mr Egeland and with other donors working out the precise details of how the reformed Fund will work,” Mr Lenihan said.
“I think it is important, at this stage, to signal Ireland’s support for the reform process, as a number of other major donors have done including Sweden and the UK, by pledging substantial funding.
“The Taoiseach announced in New York, in September, that Ireland will be devoting more resources to humanitarian emergencies. Today’s announcement is part of that commitment.”
The CERF had been in place for some time as a loan mechanism for humanitarian response but concerns have been expressed about its effectiveness.
Proposals are expected to be tabled next month substantially to increase the value of the fund from its current level of $50m (€41.7m) and to make it more capable of responding quickly and effectively to humanitarian disasters through grant assistance.
