Members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union issued this statement as a contribution to the final outcome of the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. In the statement, members of parliament from 22 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe and from regional parliaments, note the achievements of the Hyogo Framework for Action and welcome the rise in the number of parliamentary resolutions on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation over the last decade. They also support the proposal to focus the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction on tackling the underlying causes of the current worrisome disaster risk trend. They further concur that disaster risk reduction and strengthening resilience are essential to sustainable development, and recognize the need for better understanding of risk, stronger risk-management governance, investment in resilience and post-disaster recovery planning as means of translating legislation into local and national action.
Parliamentarians also reiterate the important role played by parliaments and parliamentarians in the implementation of the post-2015 framework, and pledge their support to the International Law Commission proposal to draft a treaty or convention on disaster risk reduction under the auspices of the United Nations, making it the duty of states to reduce disaster risk from hazards and elevate the right of peoples to be free from the effects of disasters to the level of international customary law.
The statement calls for coherence among the three important post-2015 international frameworks – the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction, the Sustainable Development Goals and the climate change process.
It ends with a commitment to pursue actions in support of the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction, including strengthening legislative framework, conduction legislation reviews, capacity building, and enhancing cooperation for disaster risk reduction.
