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

(New York, 29 August 2014) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, today announced the appointment of six new members of the Advisory Group of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the UN’s emergency fund for humanitarian crises.

The Advisory Group’s 18 members are responsible for providing policy guidance to the Secretary-General and expert advice on the use and impact of CERF, through the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos.

Ms. Amos manages the Fund on behalf of the Secretary-General. “The Advisory Group is key to helping me manage CERF, which remains one of the fastest and most effective ways to support people in need,” said Ms. Amos. “Most recently, CERF was quick to support humanitarian agencies in their response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. In the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, CERF is boosting life-saving humanitarian operations in two of the world’s most neglected regions.”

The new members are:

• Ms. María Andrea Albán Durán, Director of the International Cooperation Agency of the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

• Mr. Jesus Domingo, Assistant-Secretary at the Office of the United Nations and International Organizations of the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs;

• Mr. Nestor Koko, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Côte d'Ivoire to the United Nations in New York;

• Mr. Samson Palia Wangusi, Deputy-Secretary for Emergency Humanitarian Response and Head of the Kenyan Relief and Rehabilitation Department;

• Mr. Per Örneus; Deputy Director-General and Head of the Department for Multilateral Development Cooperation at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and • Mr. Manuel Bessler, Ambassador and Delegate for Humanitarian Aid and Head of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

They will join:

• Dr. Eltje Aderhold, Head of Division, Task Force for Humanitarian Aid of the Federal Foreign Office, Germany;

• Dr. Ahmed Al-Meraikhi, Director of the Department of International Development, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and Director-General of the Qatar Development Fund, Qatar;

• Mr. Jozef H.L. M. Andriessen, Director of the Stabilisation and Humanitarian Aid Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Netherlands;

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

• Ms. Susan Eckey, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nations in New York; Norway;

• Mr. Mathewos Hunde Tulu (Vice-Chair), Disaster Risk Reduction/Management Advisor for the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), Ethiopia;

• Ms. Jette Michelsen, Chief Advisor, Department for Humanitarian Action, Civil Society and Personnel Assistance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark;

• Ms. Susanna Moorehead, Director, Western and Southern Africa, Department for International Development (DfID), United Kingdom;

• Major General Dr. Julius Oketta, Director, National Emergency Operations and Coordination Centre, Office of the Prime Minister, Department of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Management, Uganda;

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

• Mr. Wenliang Yao, Commercial Counsellor, Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, China; and

• Ms. Catherine Walker (Chair), Retired. Former First Assistant Secretary, Humanitarian and Stabilisation Division and Humanitarian Coordinator, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia.

Member States will have another opportunity to nominate experts in mid-2015. CERF was established in 2006 to help agencies respond rapidly to new or deteriorating humanitarian situations. Member States and Observers, regional and local authorities, the private sector, foundations and individuals have contributed $3.6 billion to CERF. The Fund has disbursed almost $3.5 billion to help millions of people affected by crises in 88 countries.

For further information, please contact Susan Le Roux, LeRoux@un.org, 917 367 4252