THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION ,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No.1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid, and in particular Articles 2 and 4 and Article 15(3) thereof; Whereas:
(1) The security situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) is still volatile and remains a hindrance to the return of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and refugees and continues to increase the vulnerability of the local population, who thus remain in need of further humanitarian assistance;
(2) In 2009 continuing insecurity, with frequent clashes and casualties, resurgence in ethnic violence and in attacks by the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) caused further displacements and the number of IDPs exceeded 125,000;
(3) Approximately 1400 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo settled in the eastern provinces of CAR in addition to 2,600 Sudanese refugees. Some 137,000 Central African refugees are also hosted in neighbouring countries (Chad, Cameroon);
(4) To reach populations in need, humanitarian aid should be channelled through Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and International Organisations including United Nations (UN) agencies. Therefore the European Commission should implement the budget by direct centralized management or by joint management;
(5) An assessment of the humanitarian situation leads to the conclusion that humanitarian aid Actions should be financed by the European Union for a period of 15 months;
(6) It is estimated that an amount of EUR 5,000,000 from budget article 23 02 01 of the general budget of the European Union is necessary to provide humanitarian assistance to over 150,000 vulnerable people, taking into account the available budget, other donors' contributions and other factors. Although as a general rule Actions funded by this Decision should be co-financed, the Authorising Officer, in accordance with Article 253 of the Implementing Rules of the Financial Regulation, may agree to the full financing of Actions;
(7) Due to the rapidly evolving situation in the field and the nature of the Actions to be funded under this Decision, it is necessary to establish a contingency reserve in order to meet unforeseen events;
(8) The present Decision constitutes a financing Decision within the meaning of Article 75 of the Financial Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002, Article 90 of the detailed rules for the implementation of the Financial Regulation determined by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002, and Article 15 of the internal rules on the implementation of the general budget of the European Union;
(9) In accordance with Article 17(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No.1257/96 of 20 June 1996, the Humanitarian Aid Committee gave a favourable opinion on 10 December 2009.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
1. In accordance with the objectives and general principles of humanitarian aid, the Commission hereby approves a total amount of EUR 5,000,000 for the financing of humanitarian Actions in the Central African Republic from budget article 23.02.01 of the 2010 general budget of the European Union.
2. In accordance with Articles 2 and 4 of Council Regulation No.1257/96, the principal objective of this Decision is to provide humanitarian assistance to the vulnerable populations affected by the crisis in the Central African Republic. The humanitarian Actions shall be implemented in the pursuance of the following specific objective(s):
- To provide protection and relief to improve the humanitarian situation of refugees, displaced persons and other vulnerable segments of the population affected by the crisis through multi-sectoral assistance.
A total of EUR 3,300,000 is allocated to this specific objective.
- To improve the conditions for delivering humanitarian assistance notably through support to coordination and advocacy mechanisms and transport services A total of EUR 1,200,000 is allocated to this specific objective.
A total of EUR 500,000 is allocated to the contingency reserve.