General Assembly Session 58 meeting 38

Mr. Al-Shamsi (United Arab Emirates)

On behalf of the United Arab Emirates, I thank Mr. Hunte for his efforts in directing the deliberations of this session. I also thank the Secretary-General for his valuable and comprehensive reports on this item, which will help towards the success of our deliberations. We also wish to associate ourselves with the statement made by Morocco on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

The United Arab Emirates has been following closely the relentless efforts of the United Nations to provide humanitarian relief assistance to countries affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters. According to reports of the Secretary-General, the number of individuals in need of emergency and relief development assistance has increased over the past year, due to the outbreak of wars and conflicts in previously untroubled regions, such as in parts of Africa and in Iraq, as well as the continued violence in the occupied Palestinian territories and the severe decline in economic and humanitarian conditions in many developing countries, especially the African Horn, which has been affected by drought and the spread of HIV/AIDS. All of this requires a doubling of the United Nations humanitarian assistance to help those countries cope with disasters and tragic human conditions.

In this regard, we express our deep sorrow over the deaths by terrorism and violence of United Nations employees as they carried out their noble missions in such countries as Iraq and other areas affected by armed conflicts. We are also concerned about the obstacles and dangers that impede access to affected areas and people in need of help, as in the occupied Palestinian territories. In that respect, we support the measures taken by the United Nations to enhance awareness of the importance of safeguarding the security of its employees while they do their noble humanitarian work.

We also commend efforts by specialized agencies of the United Nations to coordinate humanitarian relief operations and stress the need to double international efforts to strengthen emergency and development assistance to developing and poor countries, which are the most grievously affected by disasters and armed conflicts because of the vulnerability of their economic and ecological systems. We also call on the donor countries to fulfil their commitments to helping the affected countries and to coordinate and strengthen their assistance in the context of a development strategy that aims at building systems capable of coping with natural disasters more efficiently. We also urge the international community to strengthen international humanitarian law and human rights conventions in order to eliminate the root causes of armed conflicts and wars, which have disastrous repercussions and impede development.

Given its sense of responsibility for and sympathy towards the international community, the United Arab Emirates has always met its financial obligations to the United Nations and the peacekeeping budget. It also donates annually to United Nations bodies and agencies involved in humanitarian and development activities. Under the leadership of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the country, the Government of the United Arab Emirates attaches great importance to providing emergency relief and long-term development assistance, through a number of specialized national institutions, to developing and poor countries and those affected by natural disasters and conflict. It is estimated that the country spends 3.5 per cent of its annual gross national product on foreign aid, which includes emergency relief and development assistance, donations and loans to 50 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. Coordinated airborne relief assistance, land caravans and mobile field hospitals, such as those sponsored by the State and by the Red Crescent of the United Arab Emirates, have helped to deliver timely emergency assistance to areas in conflict, such as Iraq, Palestine, Kosovo and Afghanistan, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Lebanon, Sudan and Somalia.

In an initiative of the President of the State, the United Arab Emirates allocated $50 million to dismantle 130,000 landmines in South Lebanon in 2001. As of October 2002, the unit had succeeded in removing and defusing 17,793 landmines.

The United Arab Emirates recognizes the need of affected countries to rehabilitate and reconstruct after containing the consequences of disasters. Accordingly, the United Arab Emirates has always extended soft loans and donations to developing and affected countries to build dams, power stations, roads, ports and fully equipped residential units. It has also donated $30 million to the reconstruction of Afghanistan, in addition to in-kind assistance to support the country's economic and political stability. The United Arab Emirates continues to extend financial and material assistance to help the Palestinian people rebuild their cities and villages and provides them with jobs. The United Arab Emirates plays an essential role in the process of reconstructing Iraq. It is part of the core group of donor countries to participate in the conference of donor countries for the reconstruction of Iraq, to be held on 23 and 24 of this month in Madrid.

The United Arab Emirates is deeply concerned about the dire and deteriorating humanitarian conditions of the Palestinian people, which are caused by the Israeli policy of killing, destroying and blockading cities, and obstructing humanitarian assistance to the people in the occupied Palestinian territories. We call on the international community to compel Israel immediately to stop the killing and aggression, to end the practice of closure and siege and to remove the separation wall, which will lead to a humanitarian and economic disaster in the West Bank. We also demand that Israel allow international humanitarian organizations to deliver the needed emergency assistance to the Palestinian people, in accordance with international humanitarian law, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention. We also urge the donor countries and the influential financial institutions to increase the amount and quality of humanitarian assistance delivered to the Palestinian people in order to save them from a tragedy deplored by the human conscience and rejected by international humanitarian law.

Mr. Siv (United States)

I thank the Secretary-General for his thorough and wide-ranging report on humanitarian assistance. He has pointed to the alleviation of certain humanitarian crises this year. This includes progress in the return home of refugees and internally displaced persons in places such as Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Angola. We are heartened by this. In addition, we welcome the improvements cited by the Secretary-General in Angola and Sudan.

The people of Sudan have suffered for 25 years under a deadly combination of drought and civil war. Two years ago, under the leadership of President Bush, the United States initiated a new push for peace and stability in that nation. We utilized humanitarian inroads in places such as the Nuba Mountains to help build a bridge to peace, contributing $163 million to humanitarian assistance for Sudan in 2003. We worked with the warring parties, other Member States and United Nations agencies. Today, this multi-pronged approach is paying off. Today, the people of Sudan can see a glimmer of hope for their future.

More recently, the international community has used many tools to help Liberia's people take back their country. These have included multilateral diplomatic efforts, bilateral political pressure, the deployment of peacekeepers and the delivery of humanitarian aid throughout the process. As a result, there have been many improvements since we met in Geneva this summer. After an initially challenging start, the humanitarian community demonstrated just how much it can achieve when working together. Over the past year, the United States has provided almost $50 million in humanitarian aid to the Liberian people. At the same time, there remain considerable challenges to the provision of humanitarian assistance and protection to all communities affected by conflict or disaster.

The lack of safe access to many of those communities around the globe continues to plague humanitarian agencies and to cost lives, including those of humanitarian workers. The year 2003 will be long and sadly remembered for the unprovoked and cowardly attack in Baghdad, committed against staff members of the United Nations on 19 August. We have all seen the devastating consequences of this tragedy for individual colleagues and for our community of nations. We commend United Nations agencies and their staff for the resilience and dedication they have demonstrated in choosing to persevere in Iraq and in other conflict zones. This bears witness to the strength of the Organization.

The United States holds the improvement of security conditions in Iraq among its highest priorities. Our commitment to the safety and security of humanitarian workers worldwide is evidenced by Security Council resolution 1502 (2003). It was adopted unanimously and after much careful reflection on the responsibilities that lie with each of us.

There are other challenges, including the need to implement the United Nations code of conduct to prevent the exploitation, including sexual exploitation, and abuse of those we aim to assist; the need to uphold humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence while working with the many actors in humanitarian response and recognizing their diverse roles; and the need to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian aid. To accomplish this, we must ensure that our aid is more timely, appropriate and coordinated. We welcome the Secretary-General's report on the agenda for further change and the opportunity to thoroughly examine the role of the Resident Coordinator system in humanitarian response.

We recognize the need to adhere to policies of good donorship and remain committed to basing our funding on the sound assessment and prioritization of needs on the ground. The United States continues to be one of the largest donors to the multilateral system. We encourage all donors to work together in continuing to strengthen the strategic and operational coordination role of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. We have valued Kenzo Oshima as a colleague and welcome Jan Egeland as the new head of that important Office.

Finally, every year there are reports indicating that the impact of natural disasters is being heightened. Every year there are more people living on our planet. Many of those people have no choice but to settle on disaster-prone lands. The responsibility for us, as Governments and as Members of the United Nations, is clear. Each country should assess its own vulnerabilities to hazards and prepare and mitigate to the best of its ability. Where the dangers are greatest, we need to invest in mitigation measures to lessen the impact of natural hazards, to install early warning systems and to insist on enforcement of appropriate building codes. At the international level, we must all work with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. With adequate preparation and cooperation, nations can reduce risks, thereby saving lives.

The year 2003 has seen improvements in several long-standing humanitarian crises. Together, let us work towards the same and more in 2004.

Mr. Laurin (Canada)

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