13 October 2018: Participants at the Africa-Arab Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) focused on the theme, ‘Towards Disaster Risk Informed and Inclusive Sustainable Development,’ and adopted two declarations. The meeting provided input to the Global Platform for DRR which will convene in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2019.

The meeting, which took place from 9-13 October, in Tunis, Tunisia, consisted of the seventh Session of the Africa Regional Platform and the sixth High-level Meeting on DRR, and the fourth Arab Conference on DRR.

IISD’s UNISDR Bulletin highlights that governments and stakeholders assessed progress and reaffirmed commitments towards the implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR 2015-2030 in the two regions. In addition, the “Platform yielded increased commitments of countries to enhance attention to risk-sensitive investments, increase national and local strategies by 2020 in line with Sendai Framework targets, increase cooperation among countries on water-related hazards, and enhance engagement of stakeholders with shared responsibilities to implement regional strategies.”

The Platform yielded increased commitments of countries to enhance attention to risk-sensitive investments.

Participants adopted two declarations on the final day. In the ‘Fourth Arab Conference on DRR Tunis Declaration on DRR,’ Ministers and Heads of Arab Delegations call on governments, partners and stakeholders to, inter alia: implement sustainable development policies based on DRR, inclusive at all levels; take urgent and effective action on the development and implementation of national and local policies and strategies for DRR to achieve target (e) of the Sendai Framework; develop and update mechanisms for the collection and analysis of data and statistics related to disasters and losses; promote active participation of women and youth in the leadership, design and implementation of gender-sensitive DRR policies, plans and programmes; and promote integration of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures and DRR into policies and practices at all levels, promoting scientific research and development of energy efficiency technologies in line with global trends associated with the SDGs.

In the ‘Tunis Declaration on Accelerating the Implementation of the Sendai Framework and the Africa Regional Strategy for DRR,’ Ministers and Heads of Delegation responsible for DRR in Africa called for, inter alia: adopting the Monitoring and Reporting Framework for the Programme of Action for Implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR 2015-2030 in Africa; the African Union Commission (AUC) to prepare a Biennial Report on DRR in Africa; African States and local authorities to include DRR and resilience approaches into relevant national legal frameworks not only in disaster management acts, but also in sectoral legislations; the UN Office for DRR (UNISDR), in collaboration with the AUC and development partners, to provide DRR tools, guiding documents and technical support for the development, implementation, monitoring and review of DRR-informed local, national and regional DRR strategies, programmes and plans of action; integration of climate change, DRR and sustainable development strategies, policies, programmes and plans of action at all level to ensure disaster risk-informed, inclusive, resilient and sustainable development in Africa; and the Africa Working Group on DRR to coordinate the development of the Africa Position to be presented at the 2019 Global Platform for DRR.

The meeting was organized by UNISDR in collaboration with the League of Arab States (LAS) and the AUC. The meeting was hosted by the Government of Tunisia. [IISD Reporting Services Coverage of the Africa-Arab Platform on DRR]