UNDRR ROAS, the Kingdom of Morocco, and the League of Arab States Launches the Fifth Arab Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

8 November 2021 – Under the theme “From Risk to Resilience: Accelerating Local Action for Disaster Risk Reduction,” the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Regional Office for Arab States (UNDRR ROAS), the Kingdom of Morocco, and the League of Arab States launched the Fifth Arab Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, a ministerial-level conference The platform is organized virtually and hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco.

For four days and throughout 25 sessions, 16 countries and more than 100 experts and 500 participants  – representing the Arab States countries, UN organizations, Arab and intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, academia, women, youth, civil society, partners, stakeholder groups, and media – will gather in a multi-stakeholder, inclusive, innovative, and interactive platform aiming to adopt a political declaration reaffirming the political commitment towards the implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR; Prioritized Plan of Action (2021-2024); and a set of renewed stakeholders’ voluntary action statements on implementation of the Sendai Framework and Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction 2030.

The platform will host a high-level ministerial session to affirm the strong political commitment to accelerate the implementation of the Sendai Framework and the Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction 2030 by promoting and integrating disaster risk reduction into development strategies and investing in disaster prevention and resilience, which will result in the adoption of the “Rabat Declaration on Disaster Risk Reduction” and other outcome documents.

“Disaster risk reduction efforts cannot succeed without close and effective cooperation between partners and stakeholders in all Arab countries,” said Mohammed Faouzi, Secretary-General Ministry of Interior, Kingdom of Morocco, Chair of the Platform. “Accordingly, the Fifth Arab Regional Platform for Disasters Risk Reduction constitutes a qualitative opportunity to highlight the strategy that we must work on to build our cities in the Arab region and raise our capabilities in facing disasters.”

In her opening remarks Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNDRR said, “Building on the momentum in the political and technical dialogue towards disaster risk reduction in the region, the Regional Platform places the Arab Region at the center of the discussion of the regional agenda for the implementation of the Sendai Framework,”

The Platform will also witness the launching of the First Regional Assessment Report for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Arab Region by UNDRR ROAS, "we consider it an attempt to provide an understanding of regional risks and progress in risk reduction in the Arab region while highlighting key issues and challenges," added Mizutori.

In his turn, Dr. Kamal Hassan Ali, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs, League of Arab States, said, "The political will expressed by the leaders in the Arab Region in successive Arab summits regarding the work on disaster risk reduction in the Arab region was embodied in the adoption of the Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction 2030 at the Dhahran Summit in 2018, which also activated the work of the Arab Coordination Mechanism for Disaster Risk Reduction as an official Arab institutional framework,” adding that the League of Arab States is preparing the first Arab report on the implementation of the Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction 2030. 

“We have to join hand to enhance resources and financing for Disaster Risk Reduction and take a vow to make development process risk-sensitive and live up to the principles of the ‘leave no one behind’ and address the structural drivers of vulnerability to climate change and disaster risks for the priority groups highlighted in Sendai Framework and Paris Agreement i.e., women, children, youth, persons with disability, older persons, indigenous persons, and migrants,” said Sujit Mohanty, Chief of UNDRR Regional Office for the Arab States.

During four days, the platform will assess the progress made in the implementation of the Sendai Framework and the Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction 2030 in the region, identify viable approaches and mechanisms to advance the implementation of the Arab Strategy, and define regional priorities for the following two years. Furthermore, it will address the importance of integrating and aligning disaster risk reduction with climate change and sustainable development as well as integrating disaster risk management into all relevant humanitarian, development, and health sectors.

The platform is expected to constitute an important achievement in the Arab region for the implementation of the Sendai Framework and the Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction 2030.

For more information https://rp-arabstates.undrr.org/