While over the past eight years the UN has attempted to develop its capabilities to respond to emergencies effectively, in many situations its response was too late. For the victims of humanitarian disasters, relief delayed is relief denied. The UN system should undertake measures to reduce its response time. We support the Secretary General's call for an increased focus on early warning and preparedness measures. Adequate resources should be made available to support the UN initiatives to improve its early warning mechanisms.
Coordination holds a key to the effectiveness of a timely response.
However, the multitude of actors, the overlapping mandates and competing demands for limited resources exacerbate the difficulties faced by the UN system in coordination. We believe that the humanitarian affairs segment of the Economic and Social Council has provided us with an effective intergovernmental forum to address these questions. The Council can and should provide guidelines on the coordination of humanitarian assistance. Mr. President, Humanitarian assistance, no matter how well coordinated, is of little consequence if not backed by commensurate resources to mitigate the severe impacts of disasters. The lack of funding is a major constraint on UN humanitarian response.