WORLD TSUNAMI DAY

– As delivered –

Statement by H.E. Tijjani Muhammad Bande, President of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

5 November 2019

Her Excellency Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction,

United Nations Special Envoy on Youth, Ms. Jayathma Wickrwamanayake,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I thank the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, the Group of Friends of Disaster Risk Reduction, UNDP and UNDRR for hosting today’s event, which marks the World Tsunami Awareness Day.

Over the past two decades, more than one quarter of a million people have lost their lives as a result of tsunamis. Today, we commemorate World Tsunami Awareness Day to remember these dear departed souls. To ensure that their [lives were] not in vain, today’s event serves as a call to action. I urge all Member States to adopt and implement disaster risk reduction strategies in order to safeguard future generations – because we have suffered in our generation.

Excellencies,

Over the past twenty years, tsunamis have accounted for almost 10 percent of economic losses from disasters. The net effect of this has set back development gains and added to debt burdens, particularly in countries that border the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Moreover, rising sea levels exacerbate the threat of future tsunamis, endangering hundreds of millions of people.

When I consider disaster risk reduction, I view it through the lens of my priorities for the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly, namely: peace and security through conflict prevention; poverty eradication and zero hunger; climate action; access to quality education; and inclusion. Gains in each of these areas can be wiped out by a single catastrophic event, as has been shown by the demonstration just now.

Indeed, the theme of today’s event is of utmost importance. “Reducing disaster damage to critical infrastructure and limiting the disruption of basic services” , this speaks to the fact that disasters, such as tsunamis, tend to hit the poorest [the hardest]. Indeed, in the aftermath of disasters, and often for some time thereafter, the chasm of inequality widens.

Damaged infrastructure limits access to education and healthcare services. Those that are most vulnerable experience food insecurity, and losses in income and educational opportunities.  Moreover, when rebuilding efforts lag or are left incomplete, those furthest behind are plunged into greater depths of poverty. 

However, we have the tools to safeguard the world’s most vulnerable communities. The Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction equip us with a mutually reinforcing toolkit to deal with this issue.

Implementing disaster risk reduction strategies can accelerate SDG implementation. We must scale-up climate-smart disaster reduction efforts to avoid displacement, food insecurity, and to protect biodiversity on land, and in the sea.

Disaster risk reduction strategies must be adopted at national and local levels. I commend the 9[4] Member States who have implemented such strategies. I call on all remaining member states who have not done so to include all stakeholders, including civil society, in the decision-making processes as they move forward so as to ensure that the needs of the community – in particular women and youth-  are met.

Young people have been particularly vocal on this issue, most notably during the 2019 [Haikkodo] World Tsunami Awareness Day High School Summit [held in Japan. I am glad representatives from the Summit are present today]. Summits like this have the capacity to create global coalitions which amplify concerned voices and elevate solutions-orientated ideas. I trust that Member States will continue to engage youth in governance issues in order to advance implementation efforts.

National strategies need to be complemented by adequate financing mechanisms, including concessionary financing to developing countries. Disaster risk reduction is yet another arena which will benefit from combatting the illicit financial flows that hamper domestic resource mobilisation.

Every Member State is at the mercy of the elements. I hope that our partners in the private sector will view disaster risk reduction efforts as proactive measures to strengthen the resilience of societies making them better destinations for investment.

During the Climate Action Summit, and the high-level event marking the Mid-Term Review on the SAMOA Pathway Member States called for the harnessing of traditional knowledge in tandem with the use of technological innovations to protect against natural disasters. They also addressed the private sector, including the insurance sector, calling attention to pricing of risk and risk disclosure. It is incumbent upon us to remember that, no one is uninsurable

Excellencies,

I count on your engagement on this issue, throughout the seventy-fourth session, notably at the Mid-Term Review of the Vienna Programme for Action for Landlocked Developing Countries which will take place in December; and in preparations for the Oceans Conference and the Biodiversity Conference.

These conferences offer us an opportunity [ywt] to discuss building resilience as a part of the Blue and Green Infrastructure, as well as through nature-based solutions. Biodiversity is, after all, a natural defence against disasters.

I trust that all Member States will engage with UNDRR [mechanism’ to advance efforts on financing disaster risk reduction efforts.

We can no longer be surprised when disasters such as tsunamis hit, leaving us shocked, scrambling to rebuild communities. Climate action requires building resilience. I call on Member States to take urgent action to develop and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies.

I will work with you to galvanise multilateral action throughout this session, in order to protect the peoples we serve against all types of natural disasters especially tsunamis.

I am confident that by striving together, we will succeed in delivering for all.

I thank you.