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| January 5, 2005 |
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| Relief Efforts, Prevention Among Topics Of Jakarta Summit |
WASHINGTON - January 5, 2005. Better coordination in global relief efforts and cooperation in building a
warning system are among the topics of an emergency summit starting in
Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday. Delegates from over 25 countries and
international bodies are set on discuss rescue and reconstruction work for the Indian Ocean countries hit by a recent tsunami, Xinhua reports.
Presidents, premiers or foreign ministers from the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be joined for the
conference by representatives from major donor, aid and financial bodies
including the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank, as well as country
representatives including Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean- Claude Juncker,
who holds the European Union (EU) rotating presidency, and US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Agence France Presse reports that a warning system to prevent a repeat of
last week's shocking loss of life around the Indian Ocean is expected to
be a priority subject at the conference. Securing more aid, long-term rebuilding strategies, programs to ease survivors' trauma will also be
major concerns along with focusing the current chaotic relief effort and
creating an emergency response network for the future. Little concrete
progress is expected during the eight-hour snap summit. But ahead of the
conference, the message has been clear from nations that have together
lost at least 145,000 people: the world must unite to ensure it is
prepared the next time disaster strikes.
Kyodo (Japan) adds that Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said
Tuesday that ASEAN plans to set up a ''standby arrangement'' mechanism,
comprising military and civilian defense forces, to cope with major
disasters like the earthquake and tsunamis. Wirajuda said the idea
surfaced after the region witnessed military soldiers from unaffected
countries have been dispatched to those affected by the earthquake and
tsunami disaster. The plan, he said, will be included in a joint
declaration that will be issued at the end of the Jakarta summit. The
declaration will also contain preventative measures aimed at averting a huge number of casualties when such disasters occur, including the possible establishment of an early warning system by countries in the
Indian Ocean like that which countries in Pacific Ocean already have.
Xinhua also reports that at the meeting, participants will hear
presentations from the affected countries which will enable donor
countries to forge a clearer picture of what kind of aid is needed to
match their needs. The United Nations has said that 1.8 million tsunami
victims need food. There will be a discussion on the efforts that
international aid agencies should make to distribute the reconstruction
aid.
AFX Asia meanwhile report that Asian communities affected by the tsunami
disaster will need emergency assistance for at least six months, the
United Nations said, while warning that a full recovery will take far
longer. The UN children's fund (UNICEF) East Asia director, Anupama Rao Singh, said the immediate concern is to keep victims alive and to rebuild
infrastructure, such as schools and health centers. Malnutrition and
disease, leading to further deaths, are the main concern for the UN in the
coming months, Singh said. She said that full social and economic recovery
in tsunami-affected communities may take much longer. "We are looking at a
minimum of two to three years, if not longer, depending on the scale (of
destruction)," she said, adding that the crisis has affected at least 1
million children. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan previously said the
rebuilding effort could take up to 10 years, while World Vision Australia
chief executive Tim Costello said reconstruction would take a generation.
The Jakarta Post also notes that the Indonesian government has decided not
to include the discussion on a debt moratorium for Indonesia in the agenda
of the upcoming international emergency relief summit, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Tuesday. However, while saying
that the government was not in a position to ask for such a facility,
Hassan was quick to add that it would not nevertheless reject any offers
that might come from the donors. "The debt moratorium will not be
discussed in the coming summit, but if some countries would like to bring
it up, we would welcome it," Hassan said.
Kyodo (Japan) finally reports that the UN will call for the development of
an international early warning system and a global information network in
an action plan on disaster reduction for the next 10 years, according to
the final draft released recently. The document, tentatively known as the
Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, will be adopted at the January 18-22
World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe. It stipulates the need to
establish international plans to respond to disasters across borders and
to develop a global disaster early warning system, the lack of which was
seen as a major factor behind the world's worst quake-triggered tsunami
disaster that hit southern Asia on December 26. The plan also notes that
unplanned urbanization, destruction of the environment and climate changes
may raise disaster risks.
Source: The World Bank |
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