The EU foreign ministers and development cooperation ministers discuss humanitarian aid for Asia
The EU nations’ foreign ministers and development cooperation ministers will convene on Friday, 7 January in Brussels for an extraordinary meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council. Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Paula Lehtomäki will represent Finland at the meeting.
International relief operations for the catastrophe area in Asia will be discussed at the meeting. The objective is to coordinate humanitarian relief work between the EU Member States, the European Commission and international organisations, as well as to discuss reconstruction of the disaster areas and building of an early warning system.
The UN will publish a disaster appeal on Thursday, 6 January and the UN Secretary General has called together an international donor-pledging conference for next Tuesday, 11 January in Geneva. The EU has offered to arrange an international conference on reconstruction for the disaster areas in Brussels later in spring.
“The tsunami catastrophe has proved to be one of greatest natural disasters ever,” minister Lehtomäki said in describing the event. “The United Nations estimates that the catastrophe has in total affected as many as five million people in the South and Southeast Asia,” she continued. Indonesia and Sri Lanka have suffered the worst from the catastrophe. More than 150,000 people are thought to have died, but tens of thousands are still missing. It is estimated that about a third of the victims are children.
Millions of people left homeless need clean drinking water, food, medical assistance and tents as well as other temporary shelter supplies. “In the longer term we must be prepared for prolonged reconstruction assistance, though its need hasn’t yet been determined precisely,” Lehtomäki pointed out. “Even after the acute phase, help will be needed in the area for a long time.” Also considered important by the United Nations is the establishment of an early warning system for the Indian Ocean area within a year.
Finland stresses the UN’s leading role in coordination of humanitarian aid. During reconstruction both the UN and the EU will have a central role. The EU should further develop its ability to employ its crisis management capacity so that, for instance, resources for civil crisis management could be utilised quickly in corresponding situations.
Thus far Finland has pledged a total of 4.5 million euros for humanitarian aid to assist the victims of the tsunami catastrophe. Following humanitarian aid, Finnish reconstruction aid will be granted mainly via the UN and regional development banks, but once the need for help has been determined more precisely, Finland will also consider giving bilateral reconstruction assistance, in particular to Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
Additional information: Mikko Pyhälä, Counsellor, tel. +358 40 7763 785, Marianne Huusko-Lamponen, Special Adviser to the Minister, tel. +358 40 5696235 and Anna Tonttila, Press Attaché, tel. +358 40 5131669.