ASEAN and UN Chairmen’s Summary

The ASEAN and UN Chairmen of the Myanmar Cyclone Nargis Pledging Conference welcome the presence of 51 countries at today’s meeting and the high level of representation despite the short notice.  They also salute the strong unity of purpose and the sense of urgency shown at the meeting.  There was a universal recognition of the unprecedented magnitude of the disaster for Myanmar, and horror at the enormous loss of life and massive devastation caused by the Cyclone and the tidal surge which accompanied it.  The participants extended their deepest condolences to the people of Myanmar and expressed their admiration for the courage and resilience of the survivors and all those trying to help them.

There was unanimous agreement on the need to scale up urgently and very significantly the current relief efforts, to ensure that all those in desperate need are reached quickly and with adequate life-saving relief supplies, and that an effective flow of these supplies is maintained for as long as is necessary, through the establishment of the necessary logistical arrangements and an acceleration of the arrival and distribution of vital relief goods.  The agreement of the Government of Myanmar to facilitate international relief workers to enter and operate in the country, will undoubtedly contribute to the necessary immediate stepping up of the relief operation.  There was also strong agreement that a major extra effort would be needed from all quarters, national and international, to achieve the immediate objective of preventing further unnecessary deaths.  The financial pledges made at the Conference will be vital for this purpose.

There was strong support for the decision reached at the Special ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting held on 19 May 2008 in Singapore to establish an ASEAN-led coordinating mechanism.  To realize this, an ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force for the Victims of Cyclone Nargis, composed of senior officials and experts from ASEAN countries, led by the Secretary-General of ASEAN, has been established.  There was a warm welcome for the proposed creation of a Yangon-based Tripartite Core Group comprising representatives from the Government of Myanmar, ASEAN and UN as a working mechanism for coordinating, facilitating, and monitoring the flow of international assistance into the country.  This group would begin its work immediately to ensure full information exchange, close coordination of relief and recovery efforts, and resolution of any problems which may arise.

For the longer term, the Government of Myanmar made clear the scale of the rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery efforts likely to be needed, and the immediate requirement to ensure that farming and fishing activities could be resumed as soon as possible, not least to ensure that as much rice can be planted as possible in the forthcoming planting season.  The international community is ready to consider helping the Government of Myanmar in these and other areas.  For these purposes a comprehensive rapid joint assessment of recovery needs, and development of a shared post-disaster recovery and reconstruction plan are indispensable steps.

This Conference was an important exercise towards building greater trust, confidence and cooperation between the Government of Myanmar and the international community. Finally, the participants in the Conference are united in their determination to help the people of Myanmar and in particular those in the worst affected areas to overcome this dreadful tragedy and resume their normal lives as quickly as possible.

This is being carried out with a sense of urgency based on our shared humanity.