Meetings Coverage

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.

Continuing to vet dozens of applications before it, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today recommended special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council for 22 organizations — 17 from the global North and 5 from the South — and deferring action on 31 applications.

The rights of indigenous people across all areas of human endeavours must be respected, advanced and their participation guaranteed in formulating any decisions affecting them, speakers said, as the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues met today to take up the issue of human rights.

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) ‑ 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.

Acting on the recommendation of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) for one year, deciding also to readjust its presence so it could help the West African nation restore constitutional order following the 2012 military coup and hold elections by the end of this year.

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.

With “grave turmoil” on the ground threatening stability across the Middle East, a top United Nations official warned the Security Council today that the coming weeks would be critical on two major diplomatic fronts — negotiations to halt the increasingly bloody crisis in Syria, and ending the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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.

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today continued the process of vetting the dozens of applications before it, recommending special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council for 53 organizations — 26 from the South and 27 from the North — and deferring action on the status of 17 others.