Thursday 15 August 2013
Letter of thanks from UNICEF Special Ambassador, Eddie Izzard, for Disaster Emergency Relief award made to UNICEF UK in January 2013 to support Syrian refugee children displaced because of the ongoing conflict in Syria.
In January 2013, the Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission (the Commission) made a donation of £25,000 to UNICEF to support its work with children who were being cared for the many camps established to accommodate families who had fled the civil conflict in Syria.
The Commission has received a letter of thanks from the comedian Eddie Izzard who is one of UNICEF's special ambassadors.
Further information
Commission's Disaster Emergency Relief Policy
The Commission receives an annual budget of £200,000 from the States of Guernsey towards Disaster Emergency Relief.
The Commission's general policy in respect of Emergency Disaster Relief awards is to supporting appeals launched by the DEC following a natural disaster or humanitarian crisis.
However, in exceptional circumstances, the Commission may make awards to individual charities or agencies working in an area that has suffered a disaster or other humanitarian emergency. Such exception applications are considered against the following criteria:
Individual agencies should not be given emergency aid if the Commission has already given emergency aid to the DEC in respect of a particular emergency.
Emergency aid to individual agencies should only be given in respect of public appeals for major disasters, which have been well publicised.
Emergency aid should only be given to individual agencies if it is clear that the DEC is not to launch an appeal within the next, say, seven days (this would not preclude giving to a DEC appeal launched after that period).
Emergency aid should only be given to UK-registered charities (and possibly UN bodies).
Emergency aid should be given to:
- Individual member agencies of the DEC or,
- Other major UK-registered charities, but only after consultation with the DEC.
The total given in emergency aid to individual organisations in respect of any one emergency (disaster) should not exceed what the Commission would have given to the DEC if it had launched an appeal in respect of that disaster - that would mean that an initial response to a public appeal from an individual agency should be cautious as there may be further appeals from other agencies (or indeed from the DEC).
Emergency aid should not be given in place of ordinary grant aid (i.e. if an application for grant aid has been rejected the project should not be given emergency aid).
Contact information
Elizabeth Dene, Secretary to the Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission
Telephone - 01481 717284
Mobile - 07839 786076
Email - liz.dene@gov.gg
