UNDRR News

Indigenous peoples have spotlighted the need to take their concerns into account when it comes to reducing disaster risk, notably for members of their communities with disabilities.

The devastating impact of the El Niño phenomenon on more than 60 million people was the focus of a Special meeting of the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at UN HQ in New York on Friday.

UNISDR chief, Mr. Robert Glasser, has praised the leaders of 15 UN member States particularly vulnerable to climate change for being the first to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate.

World Tsunami Awareness Day will be commemorated this year for the first time, and every year thereafter, on 5 November. The Japanese Permanent Mission at the UN in New York marked the launch with an event which also marked the first anniversary of the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, today welcomed the passing of a resolution yesterday by the UN General Assembly which recognizes November 5 as World Tsunami Awareness Day. The resolution was led by Japan and Chile.

Governments, civil society and the private sector are delivering on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and building resilience to climate-related disasters through efforts to protect ecosystems and biodiversity.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is a key element in global efforts to stem the rise in humanitarian crises and shape a new global development and climate change agenda over the next 15 years, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here today.

Plans to bring early warning systems to some of the world’s poorest countries and thereby curb the risk of disasters have cleared a new milestone, thanks to a French-spurred initiative unveiled at the United Nations today.

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and its existing private sector partners have called on businesses around the globe to join a new initiative that aims to raise resilience in the face of natural and man-made hazards.

Disaster risk reduction needs to be included squarely in humanitarian aid programmes and development policies, given its power to save lives and money, delegates at the United Nations sustainable development summit heard today.