Transcript of press conference with World Food Programme Executive Director, Josette Sheeran

Nairobi, Kenya

Subjects: Famine in Horn of Africa

Transcript, E&OE, proof only

24 July 2011

Mr Rudd: Thank you very much Josette.

The reason we are here to day is very simple, that is to reinforce the global appeal to the governments and the peoples of the world to act now to deal with this food crisis, this famine, in the Horn of Africa.

If we act together now, we as the world community can save hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of lives. If we fail to act now, then we are going to stand by and see hundreds of thousands of people die, mostly children.

This has been, I think, legitimately described as the children’s famine."

It is also, an avoidable catastrophe if we act now.

As Foreign Minister of Australia, I salute the leadership by UN, by the WFP, lead by Josette Sheraan, I also salute the leadership of UNHCR and the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and others.

I've been in regular telephone contact with the heads of these agencies in recent weeks.

We in Australia are putting our shoulder to the wheel, we are now one of the world’s top five funders of this operation and we stand ready to do more.

The challenge we have now, it to act as an international community.

This food crisis, this famine in Africa, is a direct appeal from the children of Africa to the conscience of the world. It is no more complex than that.

And if this appeal does not move the hearts of the world, I do not know what does.

That is why we, and our good friends in Canada are here to day, and why other countries are rallying to this course as well.

If I can make two final points.

The first is: the governments of Kenya and Ethiopia should be supported and acknowledged for their extraordinary cooperation in what has been a very difficult challenge for them on the borders which they share with Somalia.

This food crisis in the Horn of Africa affects the people of all these countries, but in terms of the intensity of what is occurring in Somalia, we have a particular challenge as well and were it not for the willingness of these governments to open their borders we would have an even more dire situation than we already have.

My last point is this, the world community needs to understand that this is not a normal famine, in fact there is nothing like a normal famine because the UN rarely declares formal famines, but we have one now.

But because of its concentration in the Horn of Africa and particularly the challenges in Somalia, where we are still to reach some 60 per cent of those people who are affected severely by this drought, we the international community are going to have to accept some realities. And that is, this will not be a perfect humanitarian operation when it comes to folk in Somalia. This is in very many respects a war zone, it is an area in which we have seen over time huge challenges to security, therefore we have got to accept, as a world community, that this will not be some model humanitarian exercise.

The alternative, which is to sit on our hands and wait for perfect condition to arise, is simply to sit idly by and watch literally hundreds of thousands of people die, mainly children. We in Australia are not prepared to do that.

I would urge our friends across the international community to come to this cause, to dig deep, but also acknowledge that this will be a difficult and challenging operation on the ground for the UN agencies concerned. Again we support the leadership of the UN and the WFP in particular.

QUESTION: Kenya officials say that they are facing a big challenge taking in refugees. Are there other options you are considering, like for example, are you considering taking some of the victims to your countries. I’m wondering if there is another option?

KEVIN RUDD: Firstly, can I make one point about Al-Shabaab and security and then specifically on the question of Somali refugees.

On the point about Al-Shabaab and security in Somalia, we follow this very closely and we have done for many years and we do it in detail. We reinforce what the Executive Director of the WFP has just said.

This is a complex and varied situation on the ground.

There is no uniform security situation across the totality of Somalia; it is patchy from place to place.

Therefore what I am saying in absolute clear cut terms to the international community, is that we need to cut the UN some slack, that is, accept the flexibly that they will need in the field to deal with this patchwork quilt of security environments across Somalia.

As I said, 60 per cent of those currently drought affected in Somalia, at present have had no contact with UN agencies at all. So we either stand back, sit on our hands and do nothing while we wait for a perfect world to arrive, or we get in there and we work now.

This will be a complex, dangerous and risky task, for which the members of UN humanitarian agencies should be commended for their dedication, their professionalism and their courage.

On the second point that you touched on, concerning Somali refugees, I won’t speak for the Government of Canada but I know they have been exceptionally good on these questions over time.

We in Australia have been taking Somali refugees for the better part of the last decade and a half. We have a very large Somali community in Australia; we have a large Somali community in my own electorate in Brisbane.

Therefore, the challenge is this: amongst the resettlement countries under the UNHCR framework; if they were to do proportionately what we and Canada do and the US do the world would be a different place. That is an appeal to all of them to lift their game on that question.

I have one final point as I have to go and see the Vice President of Kenya. It may well be that when we look back come December, that this turns into being one of the worst famines that we have seen in our lifetime.

Let us act now to avoid that occurring and the time to do it is now.

There is no point sitting back and looking at the documentaries in December and January about what could have been done and what should have been done.

The whole business of our international collaboration as a humane community of nations is to act decisively when emergency crises arrive, it has arrived, it’s here, it’s happening now, it’s time to act.

END

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