1. The government of the Republic of Korea will provide a combined 1.5 million US dollars -- or 500,000 US dollars each -- in humanitarian assistance for the Central African Republic, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which are facing chronic humanitarian crises but not receiving sufficient assistance from the international community.

2. The three aforementioned countries have been undergoing severe humanitarian crises triggered by civil wars; public insecurity and political instability; vulnerable governance; and climate change over the past few decades.

◦ The number of refugees from the countries has reached a combined six million. In the case of Somalia, some four million people, which account for more than a half of the country’s population, are suffering from severe food shortages. The UN has asked the international community to provide the three countries with a total of 1.87 billion US dollars in humanitarian assistance.

3. With the international community’s attention and aid largely rendered to Syria and Iraq, the three African countries have been receiving little attention and assistance from the international community. As a result, the contribution from the international community to those countries has come to merely half the amount of humanitarian assistance requested by the UN.

4. The ROK government, in order to comply with the spirit of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), which calls for guaranteeing the dignity of every human being; leaving no one behind; and reaching the furthest first, is continuously paying attention and offering humanitarian assistance to those who suffer from chronic disasters but fail to receive aid.

◦ Going forward, the ROK government plans to boost “humanitarian diplomacy” as one of its signature “brands” of diplomacy. To that end, it will pay keener attention and increase assistance to those in the international community who face diverse humanitarian crises.


* unofficial translation