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Humanitarian Assistance by Turkey

  1. Situated in a disaster-prone geography, Turkey has a strong tradition of responding to those in need, not only in times of natural disaster, but also on a periodical basis. Learning from its own painful experiences, Turkey is an ardent advocate of international solidarity and partnership with a view to building a safer world, saving human lives and protecting the environment. Turkey further believes that a comprehensive development can only be achieved through a sustainable and collective strategy.   

 

  1. o         With this understanding, Turkey, indiscriminate of race, religion, language and gender, strives to rapidly channel humanitarian assistance to those countries in dire straits and supports the international efforts to this end. Especially in recent years, humanitarian assistance by Turkey has been diversified and significantly increased. Its participation in various humanitarian assistance operations has steered certain international organizations to name Turkey as an “emerging donor country”.  

 

  1. o         Turkish humanitarian assistance to Southeast Asia in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster in late 2004, its immediate response to Pakistan’s call for assistance following the October 2005 earthquake and the helping hand extended to Lebanon after the crisis in July 2006 are remarkable examples in this regard.  Within this framework, the value of Turkish in-cash and in-kind humanitarian assistance have exceeded 250 million US Dollars in 2005 and 2006.

 

  1. o         Furthermore, the Turkish Red Crescent Society and numerous Turkish NGOs are also very active worldwide, so much so that their contributions are estimated to surpass those made by the government.

 

  1. o         On the other hand, Turkey’s humanitarian contributions are not solely confined to bilateral assistance projects. Turkey aims to further increase its donations to various international organizations. UN World Food Programme (WFP) has already named Turkey as one of the major donors to alleviate the acute food crisis in Africa.

 

  1. o         In 2007, almost 11 million USD worth of humanitarian assistance has been made to various countries.

 

  1. o         Moreover, Turkey’s voluntary contributions to the United Nations have amounted to almost 12 million US Dollars in 2005 and 2006, including a donation worth 600.000 USD to the newly-founded “Central Emergency Response Fund”.  

 

  1. o         We share the view that further improvements to the humanitarian system are needed in order to have a more effective response to the increasingly complex humanitarian environment. To this end, Turkey is ready and willing to make every effort and contribution.