Mr. President, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is pleased to
take the floor today with reference to the Report of the Secretary
General on "Strengthening of the coordination of emergency
humanitarian assistance of the United Nations".

The great number of serious humanitarian crises this year has
resulted in heightened vulnerability of poor countries which have
been exposed to the negative impact of concomitant and
interconnected crises: financial instability, extreme climatic
events and environmental degradation, volatile prices for food and
energy, and unacceptable levels of hunger, poverty and
inequality.  The magnitude of these challenges warrants a
strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian
assistance in a collaborative effort with all stakeholders. 
As we approach the end of this challenging year, we would like to
seize this opportunity to take stock of progress made and draw
lessons for the future with respect to new modalities of working
together promoted by the humanitarian reform process.

Mr. President,

A significant part of IOM's operational work in situations of
population displacement and sudden population movements depends on
needed collaboration and coordination with the host government and
with all humanitarian actors involved.  We have seen complex
humanitarian environments this year in which we were all called
upon to deliver services and humanitarian assistance.  These
environments underscore the operational difficulties in areas of
limited access and therefore, a particularly strong partnership
with host governments and local and national actors is essential to
fulfill humanitarian assistance needs in reaching the most
vulnerable beneficiaries.

Through greater predictability, accountability and a more
deliberate effort to build partnerships, IOM's engagement with the
humanitarian reform process has to date centered around enhanced
responsibilities for vulnerable migrants and IDPs which we have
assumed under the Cluster Approach. Through our cluster lead role
on Camp Coordination and Camp Management in situation of natural
disasters and our active engagement in a number of others, such as
emergency shelter and early recovery, a new pattern of
collaboration is emerging, attending to both emergency response as
well as capacity development. The cluster approach supports
national responses and fills gaps where international support and
solidarity is needed.  National governments should be able to
call upon any of the cluster leads as a partner in relevant sectors
whenever appropriate.

Mr. President,

IOM has taken an active role within the Inter-Agency Standing
Committee (IASC) on incorporating climate change on the
humanitarian agenda. An increase in the number of extreme
environmental or climatic events, and the resulting displacement,
internal or cross-border, already presents a challenge to the
humanitarian community, while the frequency and intensity of such
events is expected to rise further. There is an urgent need to gain
a better understanding of the important linkages between what can
be called "environmentally-induced migration" and climate change
with special attention to be paid to the most vulnerable countries,
communities and individuals. Following a request from the IASC
Working Group, IOM in coordination with the IASC Secretariat and in
cooperation with other agencies, is carrying out a series of
informal inter-agency meetings and consultations to develop
appropriate terminology and typology on migration and displacement
and climate change, and to identify possible operational and
analytical gaps in the context of the humanitarian response.

Furthermore, in order to create an appropriate informal
framework for efficient, coherent and cross-cutting cooperation in
the field of climate change and environmentally induced migration,
IOM, together with UNEP, UNU and the Munich RE Foundation is
working on the establishment of the Climate Change, Environment,
and Migration Alliance (CCEMA).  The Alliance is conceived as
a multi-stakeholder global partnership of concerned actors
representing a range of perspectives including environment,
migration, development and humanitarian assistance, and aims to
promote awareness-raising, research, policy development and
practical actions.

Mr. President,

IOM strongly encourages the multilateral negotiations on climate
change to take account of the humanitarian consequences of climate
change, as well as the need to manage such consequences and protect
human security, through the systematic reduction of disaster risks,
including emergency preparedness and reinforcement of response and
recovery mechanisms at local, national, regional and global levels.
IOM is therefore very pleased that a number of side events at the
Conference of State parties of the UNFCCC in Poznan in December,
will focus on humanitarian assistance and challenges, such as the
UNHCR-led side event on "Climate change, migration and forced
displacement: the new humanitarian frontier?" and the side-event by
the IFRC/ISDR on "The Humanitarian Response to Climate Change:
Early Warning/ Early Action".

On a different note, Mr. President, this year marks the two-year
evaluation of the CERF, a fund which has become a valuable tool for
the humanitarian community's emergency response activities,
including IOM's.  The CERF indeed has a relevance and
usefulness as a flexible response mechanism filling an important
gap between sudden emergencies and timely availability of cash
flows.  The "life-saving criteria" of the CERF received
substantial acknowledgement in the evaluation, and we welcome a
revisiting of these criteria to recognize the particularly
vulnerable situations of certain displaced persons, including
stranded migrants who require humanitarian assistance.

IOM acknowledges with appreciation the contributions it has
received from the CERF,  the amount to date of some USD 37.5
M, which represented a critical mass of resources to jump start
operations in 61 crises.  As the CERF faces competing demands
from the adverse affects of climate change and the food crisis, we
would welcome Member States to call for an increase of additional
contributions to the CERF in the omnibus humanitarian resolution
this fall.

To conclude, Mr. President, IOM is committed to those most
vulnerable in times of crisis and remains dedicated to working
resourcefully and proficiently with its IASC network.  We
express here our deep appreciation to our partners, and in
particular to the ERC and the OCHA leadership for their unwavering
commitment to the improvement of humanitarian response
capacities.

Thank you.