Disaster Displacement at the 2017 Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction

May 15, 2017
Events

Cancún, Mexico 22-26 May 2017 – The Platform on Disaster Displacement is attending the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP17) and it is represented by a side event on 24 May addressing data and knowledge gaps.

The GP17 is the first time that governments and other disaster risk reduction (DRR) stakeholders come together to take stock of the implementation of the Sendai Framework. The Framework recognizes disaster displacement as an important concern for people-centred DRR and provides several opportunities for DRR policy and practice to reduce and address displacement in the context of disasters and climate change. But much needs to be done to better implement concrete provisions at the local, national and regional levels to reduce displacement risks and address disaster displacement.

In the absence of a global target and indicator on displacement, governments may choose to include displacement among their national DRR targets and indicators as a useful and important marker of progress of having people at the centre of the implementation of the Sendai Framework.

Key Messages for the 2017 Global Platform in Cancún

Member States and partners are encouraged to use their statements and interventions to promote several key messages on disaster displacement:

In the implementation of the Sendai Framework, integrate disaster displacement and human mobility in local, national and regional DRR strategies.
To successfully formulate and implement provisions on disaster displacement in DRR strategies and practice, strengthen all-of-society engagement and seek coordinated partnership of actors.
Strengthen the systematic collection and monitoring of displacement data at local, national and regional levels and make it accessible as critical evidence for DRR policy and planning.

These messages have been drafted at the request and in consultation with the PDD Steering Group and with contributions from the PDD Advisory Committee Members: International Organization for Migration (IOM), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and South American Network for Environmental Migrations (RESAMA). To see the detailed messages, please download the PDD Policy Brief and Messages from the right margin.

PDD Side Event: ‘Protecting Disaster Displaced Persons through Better Data and Knowledge on Displacement Risks’

24 May 2017 | 13:30 – 14:30, EXPO 2, Moon Palace, Cancún, Mexico

The multi-stakeholder panel will discuss key opportunities for the inclusion of disaster displacement considerations into national DRR policies by 2020 (Target E) and the efforts supported by the Platform on Disaster Displacement towards that goal. In doing so it will try to answer these two key questions:

How can Governments and key actors working in the field of disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management ensure that they are sufficiently well prepared for displacement internally and across borders in the context of disasters?
In the absence of a global indicator on displacement in the monitoring of the implementation of the Sendai Framework, how can Governments improve their data collection to more effectively reduce the risks of disaster displacement before, during or after a disaster?

The panel will be chaired by the PDD-Chair, Germany, and will provide regional perspectives from Central America, South East Asia and the Pacific. For more details, please consult the side-event flyer and concept note at the right margin.