Statement delivered by Ambassador Mariangela Zappia, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations, at the ‘Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) High-Level Pledging Event – A Fund for All by All’ —
Thank you very much, Chair,
I would like to thank you and your team for the dedication and for making the Central Emergency Response Fund of the United Nations a success story as the Secretary-General said this morning in his opening remarks.
Italy is a staunch supporter and a proud contributor of CERF since its establishment. CERF has achieved remarkable results in providing immediate humanitarian assistance to the people in need in the direst humanitarian crises around the world. CERF has proven to be a keystrategic instrument able to tackle humanitarian emergencies in an effective, flexible, rapid manner. I want to commend, in this regard, the increased transparency, cost-effectiveness and accountability ensured by you and your team in managing CERF.
Italy heeds the utmost attention to the call of the Secretary General and the commitment of the General Assembly to entrust and invest more in CERFin light of the ever-increasing global humanitarian needs, as a consequence of the combined effects of more conflicts and more disruptive natural disaster on the global scale. Over the last years, we have consistently increased our financial support to the humanitarian funds of the UN, mainly thorugh unearmarked contributions, such as the country-based pooled funds, which has increased a greater localisation of the provision of humanitarian assistance, which Italy strongly supports.
This holds even more true for CERF. I am pleased to announce, in this regard, that the Italian government pledges 2020 5 million € for the year and that constitutes a neat 30% increase to last year’s pledge, And is a clear sign of Italy’s unwavering commitment to CERF and of our broader support for humanitarian assistance efforts worldwide.
I thank you.
