Azerbaijan increases its contribution to UN Central Emergency Response Fund

Baku. 11 December. REPORT.AZ/ Azerbaijan and seven other countries have promised to increase their contribution to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in annual comparison. Report informs citing the UN News Center, this was announced following the results of a fund-raising conference for the Fund  was held at the UN headquarters, New York.

During the conference, 36 donor countries promised to allocate $ 383 mln next year. Australia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Estonia and Mongolia are among them.

UN Secretary General António Guterres thanked all donors for their generosity and readiness to show solidarity with the needy. He noted that for 12 years the contributions to the Fund were made by 126 UN member states and many private donors.

"Today, we need the Fund's resources more than ever. Since the foundation was established in 2005, the scale of humanitarian needs has grown from $ 5.2 billion to $ 24 billion”, Guterres said. He recalled the tragic consequences of protracted conflicts and natural disasters.

The UN chief stressed that thanks to the funds of the CERF, it is possible to save the lives of millions of people who are in crisis situations.

The Central Emergency Response Fund was established on March 9, 2006. The fund with an initial authorized capital of $ 500 million is regularly replenished with voluntary contributions.In December 2016, the UN General Assembly supported the proposal of the UN Secretary General to bring the total amount of contributions to the Central Emergency Response Fund to $ 1 bln by 2018.