Humanitarian issues

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for World Humanitarian Day, observed on 19 August:

GENEVA, 23 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) — Auditing and regulatory experts today said that accountability is paramount for all actors in disaster risk reduction, from victims and taxpayers to national Governments, international organizations and civil society. The experts were discussing disaster risk management standards and accountability for business and citizens as part of the Global Platform on Disaster Reduction, which opened on 19 May and ended today.

GENEVA, 23 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) — The private sector, a key driver of innovation and investment, should be at the heart of disaster risk reduction efforts, said speakers at a meeting organized by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).

GENEVA, 23 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) — Building disaster resilience into urban planning will be increasingly crucial as cities continue to burgeon worldwide, said panellists this morning. There was currently more investment in urban areas than at any other time in history, and in some parts of the world cities were becoming more expensive and displacing persons to the peripheries. The result: congestion, inequality, unrest and urbanization without urban planning.

GENEVA, 22 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) ‑ Experts in disaster risk reduction today urged that science and technology be applied more effectively to disaster management policy and practice. Their discussions, organized by the UNISDR Scientific and Technical Advisory Group, were part of the fourth session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, which is meeting here this week to build consensus ahead of a 2015 world conference.

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.