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Brussels, 20 March 2003
Considering events over recent hours, there is no doubt in my
mind that we are now facing a considerable humanitarian challenge
over the coming days and weeks. This is a sobering moment and
a sobering thought. I call on all the combatants involved to do
their utmost to limit suffering amongst civilians and the destruction
of civilian infrastructure. I would like to echo the call of UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan when he says everything must be done
to mitigate the imminent disaster of a humanitarian crisis.
The European Commission is ready to face up to this challenge
by delivering humanitarian aid in line with international, established
principles of neutrality and impartiality. I would like to tell
you today what the Commission intends to do to help alleviate
the suffering of civilian victims of this conflict and how we
will do this.
Our key objective is to dispatch aid as speedily as possible
to the victims. Of course, the exact nature of the humanitarian
needs are not yet clear but extensive contingency planning means
we are ready to act immediately. The Commission is ready to adopt
within 24 hours and as soon as the humanitarian situation so justifies,
two emergency fast track decisions, each worth €3 million
that will ensure basic relief items such as medical supplies,
tents, blankets and food are available to people displaced as
a result of the fighting. Channelled through ECHO, our Humanitarian
Aid Office, the first of these decisions will be implemented by
the International Committee of the Red Cross for relief work inside
Iraq. The second will focus on operations designed to cope with
any flow of refugees into neighbouring countries and to assist
in Trans-border operations. This will be implemented by the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Federation
of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies who are able and ready
to assist 500 000 people as of today. On top of this €6 million,
I have given instructions for the €15 million already allocated
for Iraq for 2003 to be re-directed for emergency relief. We will
continue to concentrate our efforts on health, water and sanitation.
This € 21 million constitutes an immediate response from
ECHO's regular budget. I would like to inform you today of the
Commission's intention to request the Member States and Parliament
to release a substantial sum of fresh money from the budget emergency
reserve so as to cope with further needs that are arising now.
I am confident that the budgetary authority will agree to this
request that will be submitted to them within days. There is no
specific figure at the moment but I am of the opinion that a figure
of around €100 million is what is needed. The College of
Commissioners will discuss this on Friday afternoon. It is extremely
important that our partners in the field UN agencies, the Red
Cross/Red Crescent Family and NGO's can count on a reliable and
predictable source of funding. The Commission has to meet this
challenge. The € 21 million is to react now. To access the
emergency reserve we need time, which in the past has taken on
average, 83 days. We need to go faster than this and this is why
we will come with a request now even without having received specific
appeals from the UN or project applications from NGO's. I will
pursue this vigorously and ask the Member States and Parliament
to react immediately because people need our money fast. We need
to put the carriage before the horse and fund these organisations
so that they can implement on the ground. We have not been able
to finance pre-positioning in the region but now the emergency
has arrived, there are no more constraints.
It also should not be forgotten that humanitarian crises elsewhere
in the world, particularly in the Palestinian Territories and
Africa, have not disappeared overnight. There is no intention
on our part to divert money from one crisis to another. We need
additionality.
There are no political strings attached to our action. It makes
no difference what the background to this war is. We will make
a decent effort to help people who are suffering. Full stop.
Our action will be based on the principles of humanitarian law
and the importance of respecting impartiality, neutrality and
independence in the delivery of aid. In this regard, it is essential
to respect the humanitarian space by maintaining a clear separation
of the roles of aid workers and soldiers. We cannot let humanitarian
workers run the risk of becoming targets because of confusion
between the military and relief efforts. The preservation of,
what we call in our jargon 'the humanitarian space', is a pre-requisite
for the correct and safe delivery of assistance. This will be
much easier to achieve if the United Nations is recognised, at
an early stage, as the lead assistance co-ordinator. The Commission
will be supporting the work of the UN co-ordination body. These
concerns over possible impediments regarding the access of donors
and humanitarian organisations have been made to all concerned.
I feel confident that the Commission and ECHO are as prepared
as they could be to react to this unfolding situation. ECHO has
experience working in Iraq having been active there for over a
decade. Put simply, ECHO has been up until now the single largest
donor of aid to Iraqi people having already provided €157
million in aid. The ECHO Office in Amman, which is the regional
hub of our operations, has been reinforced and there are now 7
field experts mobilised to cover Iraq and the neighbouring countries.
Several missions from headquarters in Brussels and Amman have
been in Iraq and neighbouring countries over recent weeks. We
have had extensive contacts with other donors and agencies over
recent months. However, preparation for this sort of event can
only take us so far and flexibility will underpin our action throughout
this crisis. Let me repeat that the task of the humanitarian community
and the suffering of the population will be eased if civilian
targets and infrastructure are spared.
I am now ready to take your questions.
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