The Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 brought loss of life and devastation on a scale unprecedented in modern times. The humanitarian challenge it presented was similarly unprecedented, both in terms of the needs to be met, and the complexity of responding in an area in which so much infrastructure had been destroyed.
This exceptional scenario required exceptional action. China rose to the challenge: it launched its biggest ever international aid operation, offering over 1.3 billion RMB of assistance, including - for the first time - $19.5 million through the United Nations.
This report sets out how the funds channeled through the United Nations were spent. Without question, the assistance provided by the United Nations with Chinese support made a real difference to those affected. For example, over 800,000 schoolchildren in Indonesia were able to get back to school, over 350,000 people received personal hygiene kits in Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, almost 500 tons of canned fish was supplied to the most vulnerable people in Sri Lanka, and over 700 fishing boats were provided with new engines in Indonesia, the Maldives and Seychelles.
As a country that has suffered natural disasters of its own, China is better equipped than most to provide assistance. Indeed, as part of its contribution to developing a global partnership for development (Millennium Development Goal 8), China’s Eleventh Five Year Plan clearly articulates its commitment to international co-operation in this important area. In the two years since the tsunami, China has responded quickly to other major disasters in the region, such as the earthquakes in South Asia and in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. And, just as importantly, it has contributed $1 million to the new United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, designed to ensure that funds are available the moment a disaster strikes anywhere in the world.
It is vital that all of us in the international humanitarian community learn the lessons from our response to each disaster and use them to further improve our performance. The Government of China has shown itself to be keen to do so, and participated actively in the joint China – UN Review Session on Tsunami Emergency Relief in late 2006. This Report is a key part of the follow-up to that Session. It makes some concrete recommendations for future humanitarian collaboration between the United Nations and China. It is my hope that this Report will enable the UN and China to strengthen their partnership, and to lay the foundations for further, perhaps increasing, amounts of Chinese humanitarian and development assistance to be channeled through the UN in the years ahead.
