Thank you very much.
It goes without saying that access is crucial to humanitarian workers. And right now, that access relies heavily on the security conditions. Unfortunately the highly volatile situation in northern Mali has made it rather difficult to safely establish a presence with confidence. That is why support for the security structure is so vital. It will make it possible to provide a humanitarian response in the short and medium terms.
As you can imagine, we work very closely with UNDSS. And it turns out, unfortunately, that UNDSS requires significant funds to be able to do a timely analysis of the security situation. OCHA manages the secretariat of the UNDSS and has facilitated the current talks between UNDSS and CERF to discuss the needed funding.
So that piece still needs to be worked out. I know that the European Union is also very aware of the issue. So we will keep pushing in that direction. Of course, security needs are very much dependent on the deployment capacity of the agencies on the ground. And we are still working on that. A deployment plan is in place, but it's too early to say what the total cost will be.
I encourage Canada to monitor the situation closely. I would be delighted to provide you with more information in two or three days' time, via the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations. I could give you a clearer idea of the amounts needed, as well as information on how you could help us maintain our presence in those conflict zones and carry out emergency humanitarian projects.