East Timor: EU Commission allocates €1.5m to victims of internal crisis

The European Commission has allocated a further €1.5 million in humanitarian aid to help around 100,000 people displaced or affected by ongoing instability in East Timor. The funds will be used to meet basic needs and facilitate return or resettlement, over a period of 15 months. All funds are channeled through the Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO), under the responsibility of Commissioner Louis Michel.

In March 2006 Dili, the capital of East Timor, was rocked by violence. An estimated 100,000 people fled their homes, taking refuge in makeshift camps in Dili or in rural districts where they found shelter with relatives, friends or host communities, often in very poor conditions.

East Timor continues to be marred by insecurity. The complex historical and political divisions in the country are exacerbated by poverty, widespread malnutrition and poor access to basic social services. The humanitarian needs remain in the absence of a solution to the underlying conditions that prompted the crisis.

Food, safe water, emergency shelter, water and sanitation facilities and basic healthcare will continue to be provided to those who have been displaced. Support for nutritional recovery and livelihoods, essential for alleviating the suffering of the displaced and their host communities, is another component of ECHO support that will be maintained under the new decision.

The Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) has been addressing humanitarian needs in East Timor since 1999. Since then, it has provided relief funding of around €43 million to support the most vulnerable East Timorese.

ECHO also now manages a significant humanitarian food aid budget that aims to improve and safeguard the nutritional status of vulnerable people suffering in humanitarian crises across the world. High levels of acute malnutrition have been recorded throughout East Timor with the situation expected to worsen due to the continuing political and security crisis. East Timor has therefore been included in a €135 million food aid decision recently adopted by the Commission.

More info on EC's humanitarian aid:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm

| Top |

• Timor-Leste: EU Presidency Declaration on second round of presidential election (16/5/2007)
• Timor-Leste: EU Presidency Declaration on first round of presidential election (12/4/2007)
• Timor-Leste: EU Commission welcomes peaceful development of Presidential elections  (12/4/2007)
• Timor Leste : EU deploys Election Observation Mission (14/3/2007)
• EU Presidency Statement- UN Security Council: The Situation in Timor-Leste  (12/2/2007)
• Timor-Leste: EU Commission supports stabilisation (6/10/2006)
• EU Presidency Statement - Security Council: Debate on Timor-Leste (15/8/2006)
• European Commission welcomes the appointment of José Ramos-Horta as the new Prime Minister of Timor-Leste (12/7/2006)