United Nations Radio

Chief Humanitarian Coordinator John Holmes is pleased with the results of his recent trip to the Gulf region. He has visited Jordan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar.

At a press-conference in New York on Monday he said his aim was to convince the countries of the region to channel more humanitarian assistance through the UN. And he was encouraged by the meetings he had with officials, as well as non-governmental organizations:

"There was a recognition of the need to and the desirability of working closely with the United Nations humanitarian system and the international humanitarian system more widely and a recognition that in order to do that effectively, there needed to be more coordinated structures on the part of these governments themselves, of these countries themselves between, for example the local Red Crescent societies, other NGOs working there and different parts of the governments dealing with humanitarian issues."

In the course of his Gulf visit, Mr. Holmes also discussed specific situations in Iraq, Sudan, the DRC, Sri-Lanka and the Occupied Palestinian territories. Another issue he brought up during his trip was the growing demand on humanitarian organizations due to climate change and rising food prices.