Central Emergency Response Fund High-Level Pledging Event
Central Emergency Response Fund High-Level Pledging Event
Delivered by H.E. Þórður Ægir Óskarsson
Deputy Permanent Representative of Iceland to the United Nations
December 9th, 2022
Mr. Chair,
I am very pleased to address the High-level Pledging Event on the Central Emergency Response Fund for 2023.
In the sixteen years since its establishment, CERF has shown its value time and time again. And as we continue to see ever-rising humanitarian needs, the importance of time-critical and life-saving humanitarian assistance facilitated by the Fund is more pertinent than ever.
There are many aspects of the CERF that appeal to Iceland. It is a dependable funding mechanism that responds rapidly to crises. It enables a fast, coordinated, and effective provision of life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable. And it provides assistance in areas where, for various reasons, funding is limited or not available.
For these reasons, and many more, Iceland has in place a multi-year framework agreement with CERF, allowing for predictable annual allocations to the Fund.
In line with this framework, I am pleased to confirm Iceland’s allocation to the fund for 2023, in amount of fifty million Icelandic Krona.
In addition, given the unprecedented circumstances we are confronted with, I am happy to announce an additional allocation of fifty million Kronas to the Fund for 2022. This will bring our total contribution this year to 130 million Icelandic Kronas.
Mr. Chair,
Inequality, climate change, the pandemic, and conflicts, including the war in Ukraine, are all to blame for the increasingly complex crises around the world. During these crises, women and girls become more vulnerable to gender-based violence and other forms of exploitation. We therefore applaud CERF for the unprecedented $25 million dollar allocation in 2020 to women-led projects battling gender-based violence, in addition to other GBV allocations this year, and encourage an even stronger focus on gender equality in all allocations.
Thank you.