UN humanitarian chief praises support of European donors

The top United Nations humanitarian official today paid tribute to the support his office receives from European donors at a meeting in Tallinn, Estonia.

John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, was speaking at a meeting of the Humanitarian Partnership Forum for Emerging European Donors.

“OCHA, the European Union and the individual countries that are attending this meeting all share common humanitarian goals and interests,” said Mr. Holmes, referring to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Attending the one-day meeting were representatives of Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Turkey.

OCHA has held four similar regional events – Abu Dhabi in 2005, Istanbul and Abu Dhabi in 2006, Seoul in 2007, and Mexico in 2008 – in a bid to build on its partnerships with countries involved in international aid.

These meetings have provided OCHA and its key partners opportunities to develop understanding and improve its preparedness and response to global humanitarian crises, OCHA said in a news release.

The next Humanitarian Partnership Forum meeting is scheduled to take place in Singapore in August of this year.