Humanitarian issues

GENEVA, 22 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) ‑ Local communities, which were often the drivers of disaster resilience, should be more involved in decision-making and disaster planning, said speakers at a panel discussion this morning on community resilience.

GENEVA, 22 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) ‑ Children can and should play a crucial role in disaster risk reduction, a panel of children from disaster-prone regions told the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction this afternoon. Children from Ethiopia, Japan, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Lesotho, Norway and the United Kingdom shared their experiences with disasters and suggested how they and other children could be instrumental in reducing disaster-related risks.

GENEVA, 22 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) ‑ Every one-degree rise in temperature means a 20-fold increase in global conflicts, Wadid Erian, a specialist in arid zones and dry lands, told a meeting on drought resilience this morning. He and other speakers warned that, with droughts set to become even more frequent and intense, food shortages, water shortages and conflicts will also increase.

GENEVA, 21 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) — As disaster risk reduction experts met in Geneva this afternoon on strengthening partnerships for small island developing States, there were many calls for inter-island cooperation, as well as adequate financial and technical resources.

GENEVA, 21 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) — The private sector’s potential role in building resilient societies, and especially in repairing vital infrastructure damaged by disasters, was highlighted by several panellists this afternoon at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, which opened here yesterday.

GENEVA, 21 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) ‑ The global consequences of disasters, and the need for strengthening resilience through partnerships and investment, were stressed at the opening ceremony of the fourth session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Geneva this morning.

GENEVA, 20 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) — The private sector is increasingly committed to disaster risk reduction, but more should be done to develop its partnerships with the public sector and communities, said business representatives attending consultations today at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.

GENEVA, 20 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) — There would be no disaster resilience without effective decentralization, without empowering communities and without addressing social inequalities and poverty alleviation, local government representatives told a meeting there today. The fourth session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction heard from several stakeholder groups who met to explore common ground for a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction.

GENEVA, 20 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) — clear roles and mandates are frequently lacking from national platforms for disaster risk reduction, said several government representatives meeting today on the international framework for disaster risk reduction to be adopted in 2015. To be effective, such platforms should involve coordination among all the relevant actors, including the private sector and civil society, which were also part of this morning’s discussions.