UN chief calls for global response to global catastrophe
6/1/2005 14:49
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said in Jakarta Thursday that the Dec. 26
unprecedented, global catastrophe requires an unprecedented global response to
cope with, calling on the international community to wake from the "nightmare
".
Annan is here to attend the Special ASEAN Leaders' Meeting on Aftermath of
Earthquake and Tsunami which opened Thursday morning in Jakarta, capital of this
worst-hit country in the calamity. The one-day emergency summit is being held
under the auspices of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), along
with the UN Secretary General.
The UN chief said what happened on Dec. 26 is
the largest natural disaster the world body has had to respond to on behalf of
the world community as the exact magnitude of how many men, women and children
perished on the day may never by known.
Describing the earthquake-triggered
tsunami as a "nightmare", Annan said the real figure of death toll is likely to
exceed 150, 000, with at least 500,000 people injured, more than a million
people displaced, nearly 2 million people in need of food aid, and many more in
need of water, sanitation and health care.
"So as we grieve for the dead and
pray for those still searching for loved ones, we have a duty to the survivors,"
said the UN chief.
Annan said that about US$977 million was immediately
needed to cover humanitarian emergency needs for 5 million tsunami disaster
survivors over the next six months.
Before the meeting started, Annan joined
other grim-faced heads of state or government, ministers and senior officials of
international organizations in observing one-minute silence for tsunami
victims.
Annan listed the following as the duty to the survivors who are
still striving to grapple with the disaster: To treat the wounded; to prevent
further suffering as a result of polluted drinking water, destroyed
infrastructure, lack of food, clothing and shelter; to stop the tsunami from
being followed by a second wave of death from preventable causes.
In his
speech, Annan launched an appeal for the immediate international relief effort
which the United Nations is undertaking in Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka,
the Seychelles and Somalia.
"This initial appeal is in addition to the US$59
million which our partners in the Red Cross and Red Crescent have asked for," he
said.
Annan said the UN humanitarian effort is led by UN Emergency Relief
Coordinator Jan Egeland and within the affected region by his Special
Coordinator Margareta Wahlstrom. And Chair of the UN Development Group Mark
Malloch Brown will be coordinating the relief effort with the World Bank and the
Asian Development Bank.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opened
the
session in his capacity as chairman of the special meeting.
Country
delegations led by the heads of state or government are Australia, Brunei
Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, the
Maldives, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and
Vietnam.
Countries represented by ministers are India, Sri Lanka, Thailand,
the United States, and Canada.
The international organizations participating
in the summit are the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, the United
Nations World Health Organization, the World Bank and the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Annan is due to make a fact-finding trip to Banda
Aceh after the meeting which concludes in the afternoon.
Xinhua
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