>>> VERSION FRANÇAISE | |||
Inter-Parliamentary Union | |||
Chemin du Pommier 5, C.P. 330, CH-1218 Le Grand-Saconnex/Geneva, Switzerland |
Resolution adopted unanimously by the 122nd IPU Assembly The 122nd Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, Acknowledging the growing evidence that both disasters and climate change hit poor nations and communities the hardest, and that disaster-risk reduction for immediate climate change adaptation is a strategic step towards sustainable development, Considering that in recent months a devastating earthquake hit Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, and that another struck off the coast of Chile, causing considerable damage to both countries, Further considering that more than 200,000 lives were lost in the earthquake in Haiti, which caused damage and losses amounting to an estimated US$ 7.8 billion (US$ 4.3 billion in physical damage and US$ 3.5 billion in economic losses), or the equivalent of more than 120 per cent of Haiti’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009,and that the earthquake in Chile caused damage and losses estimated at between US$ 15 and 30 billion, or the equivalent of 15 per cent of Chile's GDP, Considering that Haiti, the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, is also facing severe problems of food security as a consequence of the disaster, Acknowledging that the growing frequency, intensity and impact of disasters pose a significant threat to people's lives and livelihoods, and to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Mindful of the different ways such disasters can affect each country depending on its vulnerabilities, but convinced that international humanitarian action must reach all those who have been affected, while taking account of local initiatives to provide relief, Recognizing that the poor account for the majority of all people killed in disasters, and that it is the combination of hazards such as floods and tropical storms, with an exposed, vulnerable and ill‑prepared population or community, that causes disasters, Stressing that the international community and governments urgently need to establish frameworks and measures to help poor countries and communities adapt to climate change while continuing to engage in debate and negotiation on climate change mitigation, Recalling that the resolution on natural disasters adopted unanimously by the 112th IPU Assembly (Manila, 2005) proposed that nations further strengthen their cooperation in disaster-prevention efforts, and recognizing that the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005‑2015, which was endorsed by 168 governments at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in 2005, lays the groundwork for the implementation of disaster-risk reduction and specifically identifies the need to promote the integration of risk reduction into existing climate variability and future climate change strategies,
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