Virtual Event | Managing Risk and Addressing Disaster Displacement

November 11, 2020
Events

Virtual Event | Regional Consultation on Disaster Displacement

Managing Risk and Addressing Disaster Displacement:

Challenges, Effective Practices and Solutions in the Asia

19 November 2020

14:00-16:30 Bangkok time

8:00-10:30 Geneva time

Register to this virtual event: https://bit.ly/36mXdco

The High-Level Panel (HLP) on Internal Displacement was established by the UN Secretary-General to identify concrete recommendations for member states, the UN, and other actors on how to better prevent, respond and achieve solutions to internal displacement, including in the context of disasters and climate change. The HLP is currently in the process of gathering inputs from a wide array of stakeholders, including Member States, UN agencies, regional and international organizations, NGOs, civil society, think tanks and academia.

To contribute to this effort, a regional consultation to gather inputs and perspectives from across Asia on disaster-induced displacement is being organized jointly by the Asia-Pacific Disaster Displacement Working Group (DDWG)[3], the Asia-Pacific Issue-Based Coalition on Building Resilience, the GP20 Initiative on internal displacement, the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD) and the High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement Secretariat. The exchange is designed to provide a platform for governmental representatives (or officials) to share best practices, discuss challenges and gaps, and identify opportunities for strengthened action on internal displacement in the region.

With more than 80 percent of documented disaster displacement between 2008 and 2019 occurring across Asia and the Pacific, it is a particularly salient issue for the region. An increasing number of people in the region are also compelled to move or are displaced because of slow-onset events, such as the effects of sea level rise, desertification and environmental degradation linked to the adverse effects of climate change, as highlighted by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons in her recent report to the UN General Assembly 2020 on the human rights IDPs displaced by the adverse effects of slow onset climate change. Countries will increasingly experience the limitations of current climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction efforts, requiring novel and more proactive approaches. This consultation will enable stakeholders from across Asia to ensure that recommendations, innovations, and key issues for the region are taken into consideration by the High Level Panel in their recommendations to the UN Secretary General.

The consultation, which will be moderated by Cecilia Jimenez, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internal displaced persons, with opening remarks from a member of the HLP (tbc) and Professor Walter Kaelin, Envoy of the Chair of the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD) and HLP Expert Advisor. These will be followed by presentations and a discussion with targeted government representatives from Mongolia, the Philippines and Bangladesh, with a focus on the below experiences:

Mongolia – understanding risk, predictions and investments in risk reduction (e.g. forecast based financing, and other mechanisms) that may be applicable in other contexts;

Philippines – systems, coordination and processes required to achieve capacity to manage recurrent, multiple and large scale displacements, with limited international support; process for solutions of IDPs and the mechanisms in place to resolve displacement situations;

Bangladesh – displacement management policies and mechanisms for resolving displacement; how ministries and sectors combine to achieve success.

Other states are being invited to provide further inputs by presenting for 4-7 minutes on their national perspectives and recommendations to the panel. Guiding questions for these interventions and recommendations is annexed.

Draft session plan:

Session	Time	Description	Speaker
Welcoming remarks	14h	Welcome remarks to speakers and participants on behalf of DDWG	Nenette Motus, ROAP IOM, Regional Director – co chair of DDWG
Introduction	14h05	HLP, overview, goals and objectives	Dr. Sima Samar – HLP Panel Member
Setting the Stage	14h15	Key questions and issues in Disaster Displacement	Walter Kaelin – HLP Expert/PDD
Discussion Round 1: Panel Discussion	14h25	10 min each from country presenters from Mongolia, the Philippines and Bangladesh + 15 min of discussion on recommendations	Moderator: Cecilia Jimenez-Damary (SRHR IDPs)
Discussion Round 2: Interventions	15h10	4-7 min each for country and targeted pre-selected/planned speakers	Moderator:  Cecilia Jimenez-Damary
Discussion Round 3: Open Floor	15h50	Open floor for additional key contributions from regional states or actors	Moderator:  Cecilia Jimenez-Damary
Summary & closing by Moderator	16h10	Final remarks by moderator on key takeaways from the discussion	Moderator:  Cecilia Jimenez-Damary
Closing remarks	16h20	Closing comments and thank you to speakers and participants	Loretta Hieber Girardet, UNDRR, co lead DDWG & co-chair IBC on Building Resilience

Main Organizers:

The Regional Disaster Displacement Working Group for Asia and the Pacific (DDWG) co-chaired by IOM and UNDRR Regional Office for the Asia and the Pacific, in collaboration with the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement, the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD), the GP20 Initiative on internal displacement, IFRC, UNDP, and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute.