Virtual Event | Integrating Disaster Displacement into DRR Strategies, Policies, Plans and Legal Frameworks

October 27, 2021
Events, Press Releases

Event flyer for DRR parallel session with speaker photos

2 November 2021, 11:00 – 12:00 EST / 17:00 – 18:00 CET

The sixth edition of the Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction held in Cartagena, Colombia, featured a session on human mobility in the context of disasters and climate change, with a particular focus on practices integrating migrant communities in DRR, the protection of people displaced across borders by disasters and foreigners affected by disasters abroad. This parallel session at the RP21 will have a different but complementary scope, looking at challenges, effective practices and opportunities for integrating disaster displacement challenges into DRR law, policies, strategies and plans.

This parallel session #4 represents an opportunity to discuss progress since the adoption of the Sendai Framework in 2015, and to share recent practices and tools, such as the ‘Words into Action’ Guidelines on Disaster Displacement. It includes exchanges on how countries and regional organizations in the Americas and the Caribbean have taken steps to integrate displacement considerations into DRR strategies and planning, including through the adoption of national and regional policies.

This parallel session is co-led by the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). It aims to:

Expose attendees to recent dynamics on disaster displacement in the Americas and the Caribbean region, including experiences from affected countries.
Equip attendees with basic knowledge on the disaster displacement cycle, particularly practices on how to prevent, prepare and respond to disaster displacement and reduce displacement risks
Increase awareness on the need to integrate disaster displacement considerations into DRR law, policies, strategies and plans.

Join us to hear from:

Michelle Forbes, Director, National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines;
Luis Doñas, Foreign Affairs Liaison Officer, National Emergency Office of the Ministry of Interior and Public Security (ONEMI), Chile;
Liza Mariana Hernández-Betancourth, Regional Lead for Americas and the Caribbean, Global Network of Civil Society Organizations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR);
Pablo Escribano, Regional Thematic Specialist in Migration, Environment and Climate Change, Regional Office for Central America, North America and the Caribbean, International Organization for Migration (IOM);
Juan Carlos Méndez, Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean, Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD), former Nansen Initiative;
Sophie Teyssier, Coordinator for the Americas, Disaster Law and Legislative Advocacy, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

The series of Regional Platforms taking place in November 2021 will be host to a number of other events exploring the subject of displacement and DRR. Navigate to our summary of Disaster Displacement at the Regional Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction 2021 to find out more.

Header photo © UNDRR