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Mr. Chairman,
On behalf of the people, Government and delegation of Pakistan, I wish to
thank you and all other colleagues for their words of support and sympathy on
the loss of life and property that caused widespread destruction in Pakistan.
2. We are greatly touched by the outpouring compassion and pledges of support as
well as provisions of immediate relief assistance by the international
community. Let me express our deepest gratitude to all those who have pledged or
provided immediate relief assistance to the affected areas in Pakistan.
Mr. Chairman,
3. The world is witnessing unprecedented cycle of natural disasters within
countries and across Continents. Disasters, either natural or man-made can
seriously undermine the economic growth and development potential of the
affected countries. Besides, causing adverse effects to the social aspects of
human life.
4. The challenge of mobilizing effective, timely and adequate humanitarian
response commensurate with the nature and scale of disasters although formidable
is absolutely essential. Not just from the short term humanitarian perspective
but also from the long term reconstruction and development perspective. A single
major disaster can undo in a matter of minutes and hours, years of good work and
economic accomplishments – in some cases destroying almost the entire national
GDP. This requires concerted action at all levels, from local to national to
international levels.
5. The United Nations system should play a central role in coordinating and
strengthening the humanitarian and disaster relief assistance. The limitations
and deficiencies of the current humanitarian system offers important insight and
lessons for improving its performance. In this context we would like to support
the recommendations of the Secretary General to strengthen regional, national
and community risk reduction, disaster preparedness and response mechanisms.
6. The Outcome Declaration of World Summit 2005 has also provided a good basis
to develop and improve mechanisms for the use of emergency standby capacities
for a timely response to humanitarian emergencies.
7. My delegation supports the decision made in the Summit Declaration to
“strengthening the effectiveness of the United Nations humanitarian response,
inter alia, by improving the timeliness and predictability of humanitarian
funding”. This would go a long way in supporting the efforts of countries, in
particular developing countries, to strengthen their capabilities at all levels
in order to prepare for and respond rapidly to natural disasters and mitigate
their impact.
8. It is our belief that humanitarian assistance must take into account early
consideration of recovery and the longer-term rehabilitation, reconstruction and
development needs. International cooperation through humanitarian assistance
should complement the efforts of countries and regions recovering from effects
of disasters to build the institutional capacity and effectiveness of the
countries to withstand the impact of humanitarian situations.
I thank you, Mr. Chairman.