UN humanitarian chief commends Qatar's international role in humanitarian affairs

(Doha/New York, 20 February 2011): United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos today commended Qatar for its important role in international humanitarian affairs and the relief work carried out by Qatari non-governmental organizations around the world.

"We share a determination to improve the lives of people affected by humanitarian disasters around the world. This visit is about deepening and strengthening the partnership between Qatar, the UN's humanitarian office OCHA, and the wider humanitarian community," Ms. Amos said at the end of her first visit to Qatar and the Gulf region as Emergency Relief Coordinator.

During the visit, Ms. Amos met with H.E. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar; H.E. Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Minister of State for Interior Affairs; H.E. Dr. Khalid Bin Mohammad Al Attiyah, Minister of State for International Cooperation; and H.E. Mr. Yousef Kamal, Minister of Finance. In addition, she met bilaterally with senior representatives from civil society organizations and NGOs, including the Qatar Red Crescent and Qatar Charity, with whom OCHA has an ongoing partnership. Ms. Amos also engaged with a range of civil society organizations to further enhance collaboration and capacity building.

The Qatari-led HOPEFOR initiative, aimed at improving the use of civil and military defense assets in relief operations, was one of the issues discussed with Government ministers. The initiative was launched by the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar in June 2010.

Qatar already participates in various forms of international humanitarian cooperation such as the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group, a global network of more than 80 countries and disaster response organizations under the United Nations umbrella that provides urban search and rescue services after natural disasters. Qatar is also a member of the advisory group for the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), an OCHA-managed emergency fund designed to release money rapidly in new or deteriorating humanitarian disasters.

In addition, the Qatar Charity is a signatory to the Stand-By Partnership Agreement that helps deploy national aid workers to major humanitarian emergencies around the world through the UN.

For further information, please call: Jens Laerke, OCHA-Cairo +20 19 555 8662, laerke@un.org, Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 347 244 2106, bunker@un.org; Nicholas Reader +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org.

OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.

For more information about CERF, please see http://cerf.un.org