Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-01-12-Speech-3-060"
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"en.20050112.4.3-060"2
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".
Mr President, this is a global tragedy requiring a global response. It provides an opportunity to reassert the role and the benefit of multilateral action through the United Nations, but also a challenge to the United Nations to prove itself up to the task. Thus far, its response has been promising. The response of the European Union, too, has put us on to a good start, and I salute the prompt action of Commissioner Michel and the support that his colleagues gave.
European Union aid, both public and private, has been impressive in its generosity. ECHO funds were released rapidly in the aftermath of the disaster. Total pledges now amount to EUR 540 million, plus a EUR 1 billion lending facility. Though, to be honest, one-third of that grant aid is reprogrammed from existing development aid for the region. Let us make sure that these pledges are honoured – only two per cent of the USD 1 billion pledged to the reconstruction of the Iranian city of Bam after the earthquake there has been spent.
Let us not be complacent, for the present ECHO can act as a financier. In the longer term we must have the potential to send troops, ships, floating hospitals and helicopters to assist in disaster relief. More than 150 000 people have lost their lives, whole communities have been wiped out. Five million more people are injured or have lost their homes, livelihoods or families. Many are children at risk of falling prey to child traffickers and others. Goodwill abroad notwithstanding, children from those devastated communities should not be removed from the societies and traditions that they know. Unicef and others must act swiftly to provide the shelter, protection and registration that those children need if they are to rebuild their lives and perhaps, eventually, be traced by relatives.
This tragedy has called forth a major response in donations from individuals a world away, to families of victims they have never met, yet wish to help, reminding us how small our global community is. Let us build on this opportunity to set aside our differences. The stricken countries will pay more this year in trade tariffs than we will grant them in aid. That should give us cause for reflection on our trading policies.
We need close monitoring of the aid to make sure it is not used to fuel regional conflicts and is not diverted by corrupt local officials. Let us have a scoreboard for EU reconstruction efforts, just as the United Nations must have a tracking system for aid channelled through its agencies. And let the Commission extend its lead in coordinating the Union's response. If each Member State contributed an expert in humanitarian aid to ECHO, a central resource would exist with expertise in the response capacity of different national facilities.
Finally, one clear lesson from this is our frailty in the face of the forces of nature. We cannot tame them, but we can collectively mitigate their devastation. We have the technology to detect earthquakes in the world's danger spots. Providing it to regions at risk can be achieved at modest expense and perhaps save hundreds of thousands of lives."@en1
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