UN Secretary-General appoints new members to Advisory Group of the Central Emergency Response Fund

(New York, 31 October 2008): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of 16 members to the Advisory Group of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), including four alternates. Seven of the 16 members have previously served on the Advisory Group. Their re-nomination helps to ensure the continuation of the institutional memory of the Advisory Group, one-third of which should rotate every year.

Established by the General Assembly under resolution 60/124 of 15 December 2005, the CERF Advisory Group provides the Secretary-General with periodic policy guidance and expert advice on the use and impact of the Fund through the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes. Mr. Holmes manages day-to-day operations of the Fund on behalf of the Secretary-General.

"The independent two-year evaluation praised the invaluable role the Advisory Group has played in the past in identifying and advising on important issues on the management of the Fund. I look forward to working closely with them in future," Mr. Holmes said.

Members of the Advisory Group serve in their individual capacity, and not as representatives of their countries or governments. They include government officials from Member States, including contributing and recipient countries, representatives of humanitarian non-governmental organizations, and academic experts.

Since it was launched in March 2006, CERF has allocated more than $1 billion for humanitarian aid to UN agencies and the International Organization for Migration around the world to assist the most vulnerable in sudden-onset disasters and neglected emergencies. Sixty-five countries have benefited from CERF. Ninety-three Member States, the Holy See, companies from the private sector such as Western Union, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and the SCOR Group, and individual donors have contributed more than $1.1 billion to CERF since its inception.

The Advisory Group of the Central Emergency Response Fund

Ms. Diane Jacovella, Canada
Vice-President, Sectors and Global Partnerships Branch, CIDA

Mr. Mati Raidma, Estonia (Alternate)
European Parliamentarian

Ms. Ursula Muller, Germany
Head of Division, Task Force for Humanitarian Aid, Federal Foreign Office

Mr. George Amoo, Ghana
Former National Coordinator National Disaster Management Organization

Mr. Tom Arnold, Ireland (Alternate)
Chief Executive, Concern Worldwide

Mr. Koji Tsuruoka, Japan
Director-General, International Legal Affairs Bureau

Mr. Ali Duad Mohammed, Kenya (Alternate)
Permanent Secretary Ministry of State for Special Programmes

Dr. (Ms.) Jemilah Mahmood, Malaysia
President, Malaysian Medical Relief Society

Mr. Ruben Hofliger Topete, Mexico
Director-General, Natural Disaster Fund Coordination, Ministry of the Interior

Ms. Yoka Brandt, Netherlands
Deputy Director-General International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Ms. Elizabeth Rasmusson, Norway (Alternate)
Secretary-General, Norwegian Refugee Council

Ambassador Park Soo-Gil, Republic of Korea
President, UN Association of the Republic of Korea

Ambassador Sipho George Nene, South Africa
Deputy-Director- General of Multilateralism, Department of Foreign Affairs

Ambassador Juan Pablo De Laiglesia, Spain
Director, Agency for International Cooperation and Development

Ambassador (Ms.) Marika Fahlen, Sweden
Special Envoy, Horn of Africa

Mr. Moazzam Malik, United Kingdom
Director, UN, Conflict, and Humanitarian Division, DFID

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679, bunker@un.org; Nicholas Reader +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org, John Nyaga, OCHA-NY, + 1 917 367 9262, nyagaj@un.org; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHAGeneva, +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