MEXICO TO HOST THE 2017 GLOBAL PLATFORM FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

18 March 2016, GENEVA – The National Coordinator of Civil Protection of Mexico, Mr. Luis Felipe Puente, and the head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Mr. Robert Glasser, today announced that Mexico will host the next global conference on how to reduce loss of life and economic  losses from disasters caused by man-made and natural hazards, the most important multilateral forum in its kind.

The announcement was made today at a meeting with member States in Geneva on the anniversary of the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a global plan for reducing disaster risk endorsed by the UN General Assembly.  The Sendai Framework was adopted at a UN Conference in Sendai, Japan on March 11, 2015.

Several thousand representatives of governments, international organizations and civil society are expected to attend the 5th Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Cancún, Mexico, from 22 to 26 May, 2017.

Mr. Puente said: “Mexico welcomes the opportunity to host this important gathering. Disaster risk management is a priority for our government and we have been consistently applying the lessons learned from major disaster events including the 1985 earthquakes in Mexico City and hurricane Patricia last year which was the strongest storm system ever to hit the country.”

Mr. Glasser said: “We will be meeting against the backdrop of a world that is changing significantly because of climate change and where millions have been rendered food insecure because of a very strong El Niño.  A key objective of the Sendai Framework and the Global Platform will be to encourage UN member States to follow the example of Mexico and others to go beyond disaster management to tackling the risks which drive disaster losses including poverty, unplanned urbanization, environmental degradation and poor risk governance.”

In a supportive message today on the anniversary of the Sendai Framework, President Enrique Peña Nieto said: “Mexico fully backs implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction as an important pillar of the 2030 Development Agenda. Preventing and reducing disaster losses is vital to the eradication of poverty.”