About the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction
The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction will be held from 14 to 18 March 2015 in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Several thousand participants are expected, including at related events linked to the World Conference under the umbrella of building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters.
The United Nations General Assembly Resolution for 2013 on International Strategy for Disaster Reduction states that the World Conference will result in a concise, focused, forward-looking, and action-oriented outcome document and will have the following objectives:
- To complete assessment and review of the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action;
- To consider the experience gained through the regional and national strategies/institutions and plans for disaster risk reduction and their recommendations as well as relevant regional agreements within the implementation of the Hyogo Framework of Action;
- To adopt a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction;
- To identify modalities of cooperation based on commitments to implement a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction;
- To determine modalities to periodically review the implementation of a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction.
The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction and its preparatory process welcome the participation and contributions of all relevant stakeholders, including parliaments, civil society, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, non-governmental organizations, national platforms for disaster risk reduction, focal points for the Hyogo Framework for Action, local government representatives, scientific institutions and the private sector, as well as organizations of the United Nations system and intergovernmental organizations.
Registration and Accreditation
The registration and accreditation process started in March 2014, one year prior to the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.
Previous Conferences
The World Conference has been convened since 1994:
- In 2005, the 2nd World Conference on Disaster Reduction adopted the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Countries and Communities to Disasters (HFA) in Kobe, Japan.
- 2nd World Conference on Disaster Reduction
- In 1994, the 1st World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction adopted the Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World.
- Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World
- Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015
Host Country
The United Nations General Assembly Resolution (A/RES/67/209) decided to hold the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in 2015 in Japan, welcoming the offer of Japan to host it.
Secretariat
As requested by the UN General Assembly, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) serves as the coordinating body for the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. The UNISDR facilitates also the process of reviewing the existing Hyogo Framework of Action and consulting on the development of the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction. The process will culminate at the World Conference.
