John Holmes [Emergency Relief Coordinator], Mr. President of the General Assembly, Excellencies, Distinguished ministers, Distinguished delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Central Emergency Response Fund is one of the world's leading tools for disaster response. CERF is quick. CERF is efficient. CERF saves lives. So I am pleased to join you for this conference devoted to replenishing this vital humanitarian lifeline.

As the President of the General Assembly just mentioned, this month marks the fifth anniversary of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami.

The scope of the global response was inspiring to behold. But the speed and generosity displayed in that crisis also highlighted the underwhelming response to others.

In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, needs were every bit as acute, but only a fraction of the funding arrived.

Thus was born the CERF, agreed by the General Assembly in 2005 as a new mechanism for all potential victims of disasters, natural or man-made.

In just a short time, CERF has become an established part of the humanitarian architecture, helping agencies to deliver results on the ground, wherever and whenever needed most.

This year alone, UN humanitarian teams in more than 45 countries have used some $340 million in CERF funding to help millions of people in need.

CERF funds are available immediately, so agencies can kickstart their operations.

Earlier this year, the rainy season threatened to worsen conditions in a severely overcrowded camp for Somali refugees in Kenya. But rapid CERF funding allowed agencies to move nearly 13,000 people to a new camp, averting the risk of epidemic outbreaks.

CERF funding also brings equity to a system that often focuses on high-profile emergencies while victims of the so-called “neglected crises” receive less.

For example, when some humanitarian needs were not being met in Djibouti, CERF funding boosted efforts to provide emergency health care, nutrition and food.

In 2009, the Fund has been an important part of the humanitarian response to nearly every major crisis.

Whether Sudan or El Salvador, Indonesia or the DRC -- where I saw the Fund in action first-hand -- CERF was there.

CERF enjoys widespread support. Nearly two-thirds of all governments, and 17 corporations, have given the Fund more than $1.5 billion dollars.

This year, despite the global economic downturn CERF has attracted several new contributors, both public and private. This is admirable solidarity.

For all of this good news, we must remain vigilant. We can expect to face significant humanitarian needs in 2010 and beyond.

Climate change will be an increasingly prominent part of this picture.

When I attend the Copenhagen conference next week, I will stress that climate change is already affecting millions of people worldwide every year through more frequent, intense and non-seasonal floods, storms and droughts.

Those who suffer most are the poorest and most vulnerable in risk-prone countries, where people have the fewest resources to cope. Humanitarian agencies are seeing increased food insecurity, migration and displacement, public health threats and other related consequences.

Adaptation must be a key pillar of any Copenhagen Agreement. This is both a moral imperative and a practical necessity. I will call on developed countries to provide fast-track financing of $10 billion per year over the next three years to scale up urgent adaptation efforts, and to assist developing countries in clean energy growth.

An agreement in Copenhagen is essential for saving jobs and lives. But there is much that can be done right now. Community-based disaster preparedness and risk reduction programmes can make a critical difference.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We do not know exactly how, in the coming year, the effects of climate change will mix with demographic shifts and the global economic slowdown to create emergency needs.

Nor do we know precisely where conflict may erupt or where storms may hit, threatening to undo decades of development.

But we do know that when we face such challenges, CERF will be an important part of the response.

That is why I call upon all of you to give, and give generously, to the Central Emergency Response Fund -- a fund by all countries, for all countries.

Thank you very much.