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Islamabad, December 14, 2012 (PPI-OT): Speaking in the General Assembly on “Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance”, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative, Ambassador Masood Khan said that devastating impact of recent years natural disasters had made the world realize the requirement of an efficient international and national emergency response system capable of handling large scale disasters, says a press release received here today from New York.
“We agree with Secretary-General’s observation for more investment in building community resilience through disaster risk reduction and for a long-term development oriented process”. Citing the devastating impact of hurricane Sandy, where it took days to come out of the disaster’s immediate impact, the Ambassador Khan said that such situations become even more challenging when a natural disaster strikes a developing country.
Mentioning major humanitarian challenges in recent years, which affected millions of people across Pakistan and destroyed infrastructure, houses, businesses worth billions of dollars, the Ambassador said Pakistani people faced these challenges with courage, resilience and ingenuity. He expressed his gratitude to UN system and the international community for their help and support in responding to these disasters.
“The valuable experience we accumulated because of multiple catastrophes has taught us both self-reliance, as well as ways to work with the international community in a synergetic manner. It has also made us acutely aware of the need to identify gaps and redress deficits in order to respond more effectively to a disaster in the future, the Ambassador said.
While highlighting key observations in dealing with the crisis, Mr. Khan said that the affected States had the primary role in initiation, identification, coordination and delivery of humanitarian assistance. That enabled respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity.
The tapping of local resources for procurement of material and the hiring of local expertise to save funds would also contribute to long-term development. Likewise, accountability of humanitarian actors, especially on the ground, needed to be ensured, and he urged that the Organization improved its capacity to make sure money was spent towards its intended purpose.
Adopting a number of resolutions focused on the vital humanitarian interventions of the United Nations and its partners, the General Assembly – recognizing that populations around the world were becoming ever more vulnerable to the effects of disasters, conflicts and the ongoing fall out from the global financial and economic crisis – called for a more coordinated, strategic and accountable response to such increasingly complex challenges.
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