IOM calls to include migrants and displaced persons in disaster risk reduction policies and practices

IOM Director General William Lacy Swing is calling on the world to include migrants and displaced persons in disaster risk reduction policies and practices ahead of the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

The conference, which begins tomorrow (14/3) in Sendai, Japan, will lead to the establishment of a post-2015 framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the first component of the post-2015 global development architecture.

Speaking ahead of the final framework discussions, Ambassador Swing said: “In a world where more people than ever before are on the move, building the resilience of migrants and displaced persons is essential to reducing risk in communities of origin and of destination.”

Urban areas are central to the movement of forced and voluntary migrants. They also are hotspots of opportunities and risks, and therefore require special attention when it comes to efforts to reduce vulnerability and build resilience. IOM’s policies and operations are increasingly targeting urban areas as they grow to be the key space of human well-being.

IOM will be taking part in the discussions to promote greater recognition of the essential contributions migrants make to the resilience of communities and societies worldwide.

The gathering will bring together Heads of State and Government, ministers, mayors, representatives of intergovernmental agencies and international actors, private sector and civil society representatives to discuss priorities and commitments for reducing risks that the world will face over the coming decades.

Ambassador Swing will address ministers from some 50 countries and call for improved coordination and partnerships to address potential risks linked with unmanaged urban migration, as well as make a case for sufficient inclusion of migrants and displaced persons into planning and service delivery at the municipal city level.

“Today’s cities cannot be understood without looking at human mobility patterns,” noted Ambassador Swing. “Migrants contribute to making cities more diverse, vital and vibrant places, better able to anticipate and cope with disasters.”

In the lead-up to the conference, IOM has been working to highlight how human mobility, if well managed, can help reduce disaster risk and build resilience.

The post-2015 framework for Disaster Risk Reduction now includes provisions to ensure that migrants’ contribution to resilience and risk-reduction is accounted for, particularly at local level.

The framework also recognizes the need for building the capacities of risk management systems to prepare for, respond to and address disaster-induced displacement, including through cooperation among authorities from neighboring countries in the case of cross-border population movements.

In recent years, IOM has been working with emergency response and recovery authorities at all levels to manage disaster-induced displacement. According to Louis Hoffmann, who heads IOM’s Transition and Recovery Division: “IOM’s operational experience shows that sustainably ending displacement is one key to avoid long-lasting impacts of disasters on the well-being of both the people displaced and their host communities.”

During the consultations on the draft document to be approved in Sendai, the increasing importance of remittances in building community resilience and facilitating disaster recovery has been widely acknowledged. IOM emphasizes the need to reduce the cost of remittance transfers in order to provide resources needed by households and communities at risk to prevent and respond to disasters.

As part of its engagement on this issue, during the Sendai Conference IOM will launch a policy brief on “Remittances and Disaster: policy implications for disaster risk management,” produced as part of the Migration, Environment and Climate Change: Evidence for Policy (MECLEP) project funded by the European Union.

For more information on the Sendai Conference and the post-2015 framework on Disaster Risk Reduction please go to: http://www.wcdrr.org