 UN Secretary General Kofi Annan announced on Friday a plan to appoint a special UN representative to monitor the release of international donations and execution of rehabilitation programmes in the earthquake-affected areas.
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He was addressing a press conference with Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri here. Annan said that the representative will assist him in keeping track of pledges made by the international community in the Donorsâ Conference. Former US president Bill Clinton had a similar role in the relief effort following the tsunami, he said.
He urged the international community to respond to the UNâs call for more donations as they had done after the Asian tsunami last year. âIf we do not achieve our targets, we have to keep pressing them (the donors),â he said on his return from a tour of quake-hit Muzaffarabad. He said that various factors, including a lack of understanding, contributed to the poor response of the international community to relief efforts. He hoped that the Pakistan government had put in place an effective mechanism to ensure transparency in rehabilitation projects, adding that President Musharraf had assured him that every dollar would be accounted for. He praised the Pakistan government and army for carrying out relief work in an organised manner with local and international agencies. |