Toespraak Koenders bij UN-ASEAN donorconferentie in Rangoon
Gelegenheid: UN-ASEAN donorconferentieThe eyes of the world are on Myanmar, and the suffering of its people. On behalf of the Netherlands government and the people of the Netherlands, I would once again like to offer my sincere condolences to the people of Myanmar at the loss of so many lives, caused by Cyclone Nargis. Nearly 130.000 people died or are missing, hundreds of thousands have become homeless, and up to 2.4 million people were severely affected by the massive and horrific storm, unprecedented in the history of this country.
The damage inflicted by the cyclone shocked even the most experienced specialist, and can only be overcome through a well-coordinated, transparent international relief effort and clean up operation. Here much time has been lost. No government in the world has the capacity to tackle a natural disaster of this scale without international assistance and expertise. The message of the international community to the people of Myanmar has been loud and clear: we are ready to assist you! I therefore underline the importance of this conference here today being, hopefully, also the beginning of a breakthrough on the ground. Because much, much more has to be done, much time and many lives have already been lost unnecessarily.
I am very grateful and commend the organizers, and in particular the personal commitment of the Secretary-General of the UN, for having taken the initiative to organize this important conference, a meeting of national and international goodwill, that provides the opportunity to assess the situation jointly and to develop a responsible and coherent approach towards the imminent concerns of the victims. I appreciate the Secretary-General of the UN is also personally committed to the follow-up of this important meeting and will return to Myanmar.
The UN estimates that now, almost three weeks after the cyclone struck the country on 2 May, only 40 percent of the people in need have still been reached. As I mentioned earlier, the international community, and the NL being part of it , stands ready to assist and provide additional resources to alleviate the situation on the ground. I therefore appreciate the position of the government of Myanmar, allowing all aid workers, regardless of their nationalities, to assist in the relief operations, and to accept the use and expertise of regional and international agencies in the relief effort. We consider the clear position of DG Ban Ki-moon regarding his agreement with Senior General Than Shwe as a starting point of a new phase in the relief operation.
As the need is most urgent in the remote areas and in the places hardest hit by the cyclone, unfettered access of aid workers to the whole disaster area is of crucial importance. As the allowance, with immediate effect, of aircraft, boats, trucks helicopters etc. At the same time, visa policies should be liberalized without delay and facilitate expeditious and effective deployment of relief workers.
Time is running out. If the victims that haven’t been reached yet do not get help soon, some of them will die. They must be provided with drinking water, medical treatment, food and shelter as soon as possible. And they should not be forced to return to their places of origin before all conditions are conducive. Of course it is also important to think about reconstruction and rehabilitation, but frankly, in this phase all priority should be put on relief and early recovery (rice), until the most essential humanitarian needs of all people affected by the cyclone have been met. It is imperative that an immediate assessment of the current situation, the scale of the need and the logistic requirements in the affected areas is carried out in order to capacitate an effective response.
ASEAN has taken an important and most responsible step to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar by convening an emergency session and as a result of that establishing an ASEAN led coordination mechanism. Implementation of the recommendations of the ASEAN task force is a key priority now and I appreciate the words of explanation of the SG of ASEAN {on funding member’s core group}. The UN/ASEAN nexus of cooperation brings the people of Myanmar a message of hope, and my government is ready to work with you.
But the devil is in the detail. Apart from a proper overall assessment, which is now an urgent matter, free access to all relief workers and equipment, a good monitoring system and management are vital for success. In my view, media could play a role here and should have the possibility to freely cover what is going on in the disaster area. They can be instrumental in giving a realistic and impartial insight in what is really going on.
In conclusion: the Netherlands government and its people are prepared to pledge 5 million Euros, provided there will be a proper and credible assessment, full access on the ground as mentioned earlier in the statement of the Secretary-General, and an adequate and transparent monitoring system.
And finally, we might consider to meet again after this first phase to assess the progress being made and to formulate ideas about what the international community could do next, especially on reconstruction and rehabilitation, and perhaps also on establishing an early warning system that could save Myanmar and its citizens from new disasters of this kind in the near future.
Thank you.