CERF Newsletter Dec 2008

CERF Advisory Group met in Geneva

The Advisory Group met in Geneva on 19 and 20 November and included the eight members newly appointed by the Secretary-General. The Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. John Holmes, briefed the members on the progress of the Fund since their last meeting in June 2008 and the potential impact of the global financial crisis on CERF. The Advisory Group also discussed the management response to the Two-year Evaluation of the Fund.

New members of the Group received an introductory briefing on the Fund from the Director of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in New York, Mr. Rashid Khalikov. The Advisory Group met with UN agencies and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the IFRC and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to discuss outstanding CERF-related issues.

ERC visits Chad and Sudan

The Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) has just concluded a ten-day mission to Chad and Sudan. He met with senior Government officials, the diplomatic community, and humanitarian country teams and visited several IDP camps in both countr ies. CERF has allocated nearly $30 million to Chad since March 2006, including $12.3 million this year. Sudan is the second largest CERF recipient, having received $77 million since the Fund's inception and $16 million in 2008.

CERF nearly reaches GA goal

In the past few days, some $18 million in contributions have helped CERF get within $500,000 of reaching the $450 million goal the General Assembly set for 2008. In November, CERF received contributions from Andorra ($33,495), Armenia ($5,000), Bulgaria ($5,000), Sri Lanka ($9,982) and the USA ($5 million). Spain provided an additional $12,719,000 to CERF for 2008, making it the fifth largest contributor this year.

With some exchange rate fluctuations, total pledges and paid contributions in 2008 come to $449,445,114. The General Assembly set the target of $450 million in resolution A/RES/61/134 for the grant element.