Mami Mizutori
Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, and Head of UNDRR

Mami Mizutori is the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, and head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).

On 31 January 2018, the United Nations Secretary-General announced the appointment of Mami Mizutori as Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction. 

Prior to joining the UN, Ms. Mizutori was Executive Director of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, University of East Anglia, UK from 2011.

Ms. Mizutori served for twenty-seven years in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in various capacities, including: Budget Director; Director of the Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC) at the Embassy of Japan in London; Director of the National Security Policy Division, Director of the United Nations Policy Division; Director of the Status of US Forces Agreement Division; and Deputy Director of the Personnel Division.

Having graduated in law from Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo and obtained a Diploma in International Studies from the Diplomatic School of Spain, she has taught courses on governance in East Asia at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University and international studies at Waseda University, Tokyo.

A Japanese national, Ms. Mizutori speaks fluent Japanese, English and Spanish. She is married to Barak Kushner and lives in Geneva, Switzerland.

SRSG Mami Mizutori


Recent statements

Regional Launch of the Early Warnings for All Initiative (EW4ALL) for the Caribbean
While I wish I could be with you in person, I am delighted to send this message for the first regional launch of the Early Warnings for All initiative. I thank Barbados, CARICOM and the Caribbean Disaster Management Agency for hosting and organizing.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
The 2011 Van earthquakes occurred in eastern Turkey near the city of Van.
Statement on the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria by Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
SRSG Mami Mizutori
I congratulate India on assuming the Presidency of the G20 from Indonesia and commend India’s Presidency on the decision to establish the first G20 working group on Disaster Risk Reduction.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
SRSG Mami Mizutori
Coming on the heels of a year that saw many climate-driven disasters, including the recent devastation in Pakistan, it is no wonder that addressing the impacts of these disasters was front and centre at COP27, which was dubbed the “implementation COP.”
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Video messages


Articles and Op Eds

Reflecting on Brazil's recent technical disaster, Mami Mizutori, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for DRR, writes in this op-ed that the fatalities and extreme environmental damage associated with tailings dam failures are avoidable. Inadequate risk governance is a key risk driver, and the mining industry must establish a zero casualty policy.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
Our work - Mami Mizutori
Q&A with Mami Mizutori
"90 percent of disaster funding is spent only after disaster strikes. It goes on relief, the response and reconstruction. Only 10 percent is spent on prevention. But the gap is widening between the need for humanitarian aid and what the international community is able to provide."
Read the interview

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