CERF: Celebrating 10 years of success and envisioning the future

From left to right: Mr. Anthony Lake, H.E. Mr. Per Örneus, Mr. Stephen O’Brien, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, H.E. Mr. Christiaan Rebergen, H.E. Mr. Y. Halit Çevik, Mr. Elhadj As Sy.

Background

CERF’s annual High-Level Pledging Conference, which also marked the kick-off of its 10-year anniversary campaign, took place on 17 December in New York. Member States and Observers, UN officials, and representatives of the humanitarian community attended the event during which they took stock of the Funds’ achievements, discussed its future and pledged their renewed support for the Fund for 2016.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the conference by emphasizing the importance of CERF as a “breakthrough in providing fast and predictable funding for early action at times of global crisis” and enhancing the credibility of the United Nations. “A strong UN needs a strong CERF”, he said.

Stephen O’Brien, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, highlighted the speed and non-discriminatory characteristics of the Fund, created a decade ago “for all, by all.”

The panel discussion focused on CERF as an innovation and its impact - building on its strong track record and remaining fit for the future.

CERF’s success: immediate aid for millions worldwide

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon captured CERF’s vital role by saying that “investing in CERF is investing in life, and in our shared humanity” and by recalling the Fund’s crucial role in assisting millions of people around the world: “Every year, CERF has enabled humanitarian partners to provide critical health services to more than 20 million people. Every year, it has helped feed some 10 million people, provide water and sanitation to 8 million people and bring emergency shelter to 1 million people”.

Panellists acknowledged the success of CERF in providing quick humanitarian assistance to victims of humanitarian crises. Mr. Per Örneus, Swedish Ambassador for Humanitarian Affairs, said "CERF is one of the true success stories of the humanitarian reform. […] It acts as a lubricant and an ignition mechanism in the UN response system” and serves donor partners well as a quick, cost effective way to disburse humanitarian aid money to meet greatest needs.

In a video message, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. António Guterres said: “It is not only one of the fastest and most effective ways to provide crucial funding for life-saving emergency assistance and protection. But CERF has also been a lifeline for the world’s most neglected and protracted humanitarian crises that don’t make the headlines and struggle to attract funding,”.

Representing one of the front line humanitarian agencies, Mr. Anthony Lake, Executive Director of UNICEF, commended the Fund’s efficient and quick support for UNICEF’s humanitarian efforts in 88 countries emphasizing the role of CERF in achieving results benefiting children in countries such as Syria, Nepal, South Sudan, Haiti, the Central African Republic, Iraq and Afghanistan. “I don’t know what we would do without CERF,” he admitted.

CERF’s future: partnerships and challenges

Amidst growing humanitarian needs worldwide, panellists stressed the need to enhance CERF. Mr. O’Brien highlighted the “devastating and unprecedented scale” of current humanitarian crises and the level of humanitarian suffering not seen since the Second World War. He warned that, as more than 125 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2016, “securing CERF’s funding base is central to meeting our commitment to reach people in the most urgent need”.

While reinforcing CERF’s relevance as “a unique funding mechanism within the humanitarian community”, Mr. Christiaan Rebergen, Vice-Minister for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, expressed his concern about the limited number of its major contributors and said that the “ continued effort is needed to explore ways to broaden and deepen the donor base.” In his statement, he noted the importance of finding innovative financing models and encouraging non-traditional donors, for example the private sector, to become more involved.

Mr. Elhadj As Sy, Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), advocated for a more proactive approach in addressing the fact that local civil society organizations cannot receive funds directly from CERF. While calling for a right balance between providing a space for UN agencies and helping local civil society organizations, Mr. Örneus recalled that one of CERF’s original objectives was to strengthen UN humanitarian response and that there is an excellent alternative for NGO funding – Country-based Pooled Funds. “The whole humanitarian community benefits from CERF allocations regardless of who is the main implementing agent,” concluded the Swedish Ambassador for Humanitarian Affairs.

Mr. Eugene Owusu, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in South Sudan, referred to CERF as “a rare beacon of hope”, which shows that the world is standing with people in need. He called for a stronger partnership between UN agencies and NGOs.

Mr. William Lacy Swing, Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), commended the ”overwhelming success” of CERF and insisted on the importance of rethinking its size, broadening its donor base and increasing partnership with the private sector.

Per Örneus said that the creation of CERF by the UN General Assembly reflected the courage of Member States to shoulder a united responsibility to the world’s most vulnerable. He challenged them to have the same courage now to increase the Fund’s size.

Mr. Halit Çevik, Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations, advocated for a stronger humanitarian-development nexus, notably through a more development- and resilience-oriented approach and strengthened contribution to funds like CERF. He expressed the need for these discussions to continue in the run up to the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016 in Istanbul.

In closing, Mr. O'Brien thanked CERF donors for their strong and continued support for the Fund and for already pledging more than a quarter of billion dollars for 2016. Several top contributors to CERF are expected to announce their pledges in early 2016, when their internal budget processes will conclude.

For more information see: