Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Madame President -
Member States often thank the Council Presidency for convening an important meeting; but that comment is uniquely appropriate, and uniquely meaningful, for today’s open debate.
New Zealand compliments the United States for its initiative in convening this critical discussion about a crisis unprecedented in scale, in impact, and in its potential to threaten international peace and security.
It’s not necessary to repeat the obvious, save one alarming key fact: The Ebola Virus continues to have a devastating impact on the West African sub-region – most notably in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – and it requires a “massively scaled and coordinated international response” to support affected and at-risk countries.
This unprecedented crisis requires an unprecedented response.
Back on 8 July, in this chamber, we heard the then head of the UN Office for West Africa, SRSG Said Djinnit, warn of Ebola’s alarming spread, despite some initial successes in containment.
That warning was timely, and it was valuable.
New Zealand welcomes the continuation of such briefings from regional offices, which allow for emerging threats like this to be brought to the Council’s attention.
We also welcome the UN’s action on Ebola over recent weeks, including establishing an Operations Crisis Centre to coordinate contributions from Member States; and we thank Dr Chan for her detailed outline of the WHO’s international response plan.
The international response to stop further Ebola transmission, and to prevent wider spread of the virus, must be swift, it must be action-orientated, and it must enjoy the highest level of political support.
Today’s meeting is a signal of that support.
New Zealand is grateful to those countries who’ve already made significant contributions to the affected region, and to those who’ve made further pledges today, including support for the WHO, UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières and others.
The African Union Peace and Security Council has also, of course, authorised the AU’s first-ever humanitarian mission to the affected countries – a commendable act of African solidarity.
That, and any other regional responses, must be supported.
New Zealand has heard loud and clear the message that what’s needed is an international mobilisation of significant financial contributions, resources, and expertise.
New Zealand is in the midst of a General Election, to take place tomorrow (New Zealand time), and is thus constitutionally constrained by what are known as “Caretaker Conventions”.
However, one of the first tasks of our new Government will be the urgent consideration of a range of options of what more we can do to contribute to the international response.
Last month, trained New Zealand nurses deployed to the affected sub-region to contribute to response efforts, working with the team led by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
In addition to that deployment of practical expertise, New Zealand has provided funding to the IFRC – and to UNICEF and the WHO - organisations that are assisting efforts to stop the further transmission of the virus, and to prevent its geographic spread.
Madame President –
New Zealand may be geographically far from West Africa. But we are determined to play our part to ensure that the Governments and people of the sub-region – particularly Guineans, Liberians and Sierra Leones – have the international support they require – indeed, the international support they deserve – to control the outbreak and to prevent the further spread of this “latter-day plague”.