UN Secretary-General appoints new CERF Advisory Group Members

(New York, 13 September 2012): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of seven new members of the Advisory Group of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the United Nations humanitarian fund.

The CERF Advisory Group is charged with providing policy guidance to the Secretary-General, and expert advice on the use of the Fund and its impact, through the Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos.

“CERF grants save millions of lives,” said Ms. Amos. “The guidance of CERF Advisory Group members is key to helping OCHA manage the fund. Together we will ensure that CERF remains fast and flexible to help people in need.”

The Advisory Group’s 18 members serve in their individual capacity, and not as representatives of their countries or Governments. Candidates were selected based on their expertise and experience responding to humanitarian emergencies and to reflect geographic and gender balance.

The incoming Advisory Group members are:

· Ms. Catherine Walker, First Assistant Director General of the Humanitarian and Stabilisation Division and Humanitarian Coordinator of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID); · Mr. Wenliang Yao, Commercial Counsellor of the Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs of China;

· Ms. Nancy Butijer, Head of the Division for Economic Multilateral Relations, Economic and Social Issues, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia;

· Mr. Mathewos Hunde Tulu, Director of Early Warning and Response Directorate, Disaster Management and Food Security Sector of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ethiopia;

· Ms. Yukie Osa, President of the Association for Aid and Relief and Professor in the Department of Sociology, Rikkyo University of Japan;

· Ms. Susan Eckey, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nations;

· Ms. Susanna Moorehead, Director for Western and Southern Africa at the Department for International Development (DfID) of the United Kingdom.

These newly-appointed members will begin their term at the upcoming Advisory Group meeting, which will take place 30 - 31 October. Eleven members of the CERF Advisory Group will continue to serve, helping to preserve the institutional memory of the Group. They are:

· Mr. Carlos Eduardo Zaballa, UN – Liaison Coordinator, White Helmets Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina;

· Mr. Jan Vandemoortele, Retired UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator and Humanitarian Expert (Belgium);

· Mr. Milton Rondó Filho (Vice-Chair, Advisory Group), General-Coordinator of the International Actions Against Hunger of the Ministry of External Relations of Brazil;

· Mr. Stephen Salewicz, International Humanitarian Assistance Directorate of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA);

· Mr. Barges Hamoud Al Barges, Chairman of the Kuwaiti Red Crescent Society;

· Mr. Mohameden Ould Zein, Head of the Mission for the Coordination of Activities of the Commissariat of Food Security of Mauritania;

· Ms. Saadatou Mallam Barmou, Special Advisor in the Humanitarian and Social Actions Cabinet of the Prime Minister of Niger;

· Ms. Biya Han, Advisor to the Korean Overseas International Cooperation Agency (KOICA);

· Mr. Marius Daniel Dogeanu, Head of European Affairs of International Assistance and International Relations of the Department of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations of Romania;

· Mr. Mikael Lindvall (Chair, Advisory Group), Ambassador and Special Envoy to the Somali Peace Process, Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi;

· Mr. Osman Nüvit Bektas, Head of the Department of the Prime Ministry for the Disaster and Emergency Management of Turkey.

Member States will have another opportunity to nominate experts in mid-2013.

CERF was established in 2006 to help agencies respond rapidly to new or deteriorating humanitarian situations. Since its establishment, more than 124 Member States and private sector donors have contributed $2.8 billion to CERF, which is administered by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The Fund has disbursed over $2.6 billion to help millions of people affected by natural disasters and conflict in 87 countries and territories.