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In Brief
Appeal No. 05AA062; Programme Update no. 2, Period covered: 1 May to 30 November 2005; Appeal coverage: 80.4%; Outstanding needs: CHF 573,419 (USD 435,891 or EUR 367,999).
The appeal budget has been revised from CHF 3,295,095 to CHF 2,925,608 (USD 2,223,934 or EUR 1,877,544); The revision is mainly because of the removal of infrastructure budgets that are now funded by programme support recovery (PSR) and do not require voluntary donor support. Click here to go directly to the attached revised appeal budget.
Related Emergency or Annual Appeals: Manam and Langila Volcanoes 05EA012
Programme summary:
National societies form the Pacific region and key Movement partners discussed progress against agreed plans as well as emerging needs and opportunities during the 13th Pacific Partnership Meeting held in Manase, Samoa in May.
All programmes have progressed strongly, particularly those related to HIV/AIDS and organizational development. The disaster management programme, despite positive achievements, has been hampered by the absence of a disaster management delegate for the most of the second half of 2005. Of note, many activities have responded to or followed up on needs and priorities expressed at the Pacific Partnership meeting in Samoa.
Operational developments
National societies form the Pacific region and key Movement partners discussed progress against agreed plans as well as emerging needs and opportunities during the 13th Pacific Partnership Meeting held in Manase, Samoa in May.
There were no major disasters in the region during the reporting period. However, there were a number of smaller disasters -- including floods (in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea and Fiji) and volcano eruptions (Mt Langila in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu) that required response and limited relief action. In addition, relief operations continue in Papua New Guinea (PNG), with the construction of medium-term shelter for families made homeless earlier this year by the Manam volcano eruptions.
During their annual Forum summit, government leaders from the Pacific region adopted the "Pacific Plan" aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and further integration. Meanwhile, some tensions surfaced in Fiji over the proposed "reconciliation, tolerance and unity bill", as well as in Tonga following a strike by civil servants.
All national societies participated in the Federation's General Assembly and the Movement's Council of Delegates meetings, held in Seoul in November. A diplomatic conference held in Geneva in December adopted a third additional protocol to the Geneva conventions, allowing the creation of an additional emblem: the Red Crystal.
Papua New Guinea
In Papua New Guinea (PNG), the political situation has stabilized. After 15 years of conflict, the election of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville was formally recognised on 9 June 2005 after a successful election of the president and members of the House of Representatives . The amendment to the PNG national constitution (Part IV), allows for a Bougainville constitution, within which substantial powers can be exercised by the parliament and its executives. These powers are substantially greater than those exercised by other provincial governments.
With the introduction of the informal sector law, most of the unemployed in the country's main city of Port Moresby has resorted to selling common goods along the city streets. Nevertheless, crime rates continue to be high. The Australian federal police deployed in the beginning of the year had to leave the country after the Australian government's request to amend the PNG constitution to grant special immunity to its federal police was unsuccessful.
The Papua New Guinea Red Cross Society (PNGRCS ), together with the Australian Red Cross, Federation and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) representatives also carried out a multilateral assessment on Bougainville, which was well received by the new autonomous government of Bougainville. The president requested the Red Cross to return to Bougainville after the local branch disengaged in 2001.
For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:
Federation regional delegation in Fiji: Ms. Rea Noponen (acting head of regional delegation); email: rea.noponen@ifrc.org, Suva; phone: +679.3311855; fax: +679.3311406.
Federation country delegation in Papua New Guinea: Mr. Ervin Bulathsinghala (head of delegation); email: es.bulathsinghala@ifrc.org; phone: +675.3112277; fax: +675.3230731
Federation Secretariat in Geneva: Ms. Hyun Ji Lee (Pacific regional officer, Asia and Pacific department); email: hj.lee@ifrc.org; phone: +41.22.7304260; fax: +41.22.7330395
This Programme Update reflects activities to be implemented over a one-year period. This forms part of, and is based on, longer -term, multi-year planning (refer below to access the detailed logframe documents). All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for a full description of the national society profile, please access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org
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