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External sources (not reviewed)

The delegation had serious reservations about the external security and about the ability of the prison staff to take effective and appropriate action in case of an emergency, such as a fire.

Other suggested areas of priority attention included: climate change, disaster prevention and preparedness, minimizing biodiversity loss through sustainable management of resources, renewable energies, the formulation of national strategies in science and technology, the promotion of local and indigenous knowledge systems as well as improving the links between scientists and decision-makers.

The Committee recommends that the Report continue to feature such elements as economic and social analysis of the impacts of disasters, descriptions of regional cooperation and analysis of the role of space applications and information and communications technology (ICT) in disaster risk reduction, in addition to new elements, such as (a) information on champions for disaster risk reduction, (b) social and psychological analysis, (c) coverage of community practices vis-à-vis global perspectives, (d) analysis of a possible linkage between the Hyogo Framework for Action and the Millennium Development Goals and (e) linkage to the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction.

Changing demographics and poor technological and socio-economic conditions, unplanned urbanization, development within high-risk zones, underdevelopment and poor infrastructure, weak adaptive capacity, environmental degradation, climate variability, climate change, exposure to geological hazards, competition for scarce resources, and the impact of epidemics such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis all increase the vulnerability of least developed countries to natural hazards.

Delegates recognized that disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management should be considered integral components of hunger and poverty alleviation efforts in the region.

Legislation has been introduced to legalise measures to reduce, in the near future, air pollution, noise, radiation and vibration, and the effect of buildings raising the threat of disasters in densely populated areas.

The activities of nongovernmental organizations and other private actors, sometimes collectively referred to as “civil society” actors, are included within the scope of the draft articles only in a secondary manner, either as direct beneficiaries of duties placed on States (for example, of the duty of States to cooperate, in article 5) or indirectly, as being subject to the domestic laws, implementing the draft articles, of either the affected State, a third State or the State of nationality of the entity or private actor.

Given that the Arab region is facing ever-increasing risks as a result of the degradation of environmental systems and the natural disasters that are occurring regularly because of increasing geological and climate changes, which have a direct impact on lives, infrastructure, means of livelihood and sustainable development, we affirm implementation of the Arab strategy to reduce disaster risk 2020 and commitment to the Arab declaration and statement on climate change and the related resolutions, and promise to devise an Arab plan for dealing with climate change.

The threat may be linked to a variety of events such as natural or epidemiological disasters, invasion of the national territory by foreign entities or an institutional crisis.

The updated Model Strategies and Practical Measures recognize that some special groups of women are particularly vulnerable to violence, either because of their nationality, ethnicity, religion or language, or because they belong to an indigenous group, are migrants, are stateless, are refugees, live in underdeveloped, rural or remote communities, are homeless, are in institutions or in detention, have disabilities, are elderly, are widowed or live in conflict, post-conflict or disaster situations, and as such they require special attention, intervention and protection in the development of crime prevention and criminal justice responses to violence against women.

The Advisory Committee received the following clarification: in spite of the timing of its presentation, the proposal of the Secretary-General to establish an Emergency Preparedness and Support Unit was intended not to respond specifically to requirements related to the recent natural disaster in Haiti, but rather to put in place arrangements to deal with any crisis that has occurred or that may occur as the result of natural disasters, malicious acts directed at the United Nations or other emergencies.

Failure to follow this warning could cause fire, explosion, and electric shock and result in serious injury and property damage.

The Commission noted that the key priorities of the Subregional Office included: (a) accelerating the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals through inclusive growth, gender equality and policy advocacy by means of regional knowledge networks; (b) strengthening connectivity, and trade and transport facilitation; (c) promoting regional economic integration, regional cooperation for food and energy security, and disaster risk reduction; and (d) assisting the least developed countries in building productive capacity.

Poaching, the feralization of the domestic reindeer, the increasing number of predators (wolves), massive deforestation, a decrease in the number of reindeer moss, high rent for northern reindeer herding, at 5.35 rubles per hectare on forest area units and many other reasons have also led to the catastrophic situation of reindeer herding in Sakhalin.

Then she walked back through the camp to her home, where – like hundreds of thousands in Haiti – she lives in a flimsy shelter with her entire family.

Some representatives stressed the need to promote regional cooperative mechanisms and resource-sharing arrangements for disaster risk reduction and climate change risk reduction, including those involving information, communications and space technologies, to improve different types of hazard identification and preparedness planning as well as partnerships and collaboration with regional and subregional organizations.

These databases, including the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa geospatial database, the African Climate Policy Centre’s climate change activities database and its agricultural commodity value-chain database and interface, form the core of the African Regional Spatial Data Infrastructure, with dedicated online applications and streamlined electronic delivery of products and services for targeted sectors including agriculture, climate change, carbon sequestration, water resources management and natural disasters and other regional challenges.

CSTO welcomed the growing input of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the fight against the Afghan drug infrastructure and called for increased cooperation between ISAF and the Government of Afghanistan, noting that, in order to combat that scourge, Afghanistan needed increased and better coordinated international assistance and the complete commitment of its authorities.

High-handed policies to maintain illegal occupation were doubly disastrous owing to their direct effect on lives and livelihoods on the ground and to their negative impact on the broader peace process, the only light at the end of a long tunnel of conflict and violence.

During the same period, the Government has been working on the implementation of reintegration programmes, principally through the support project for the socio-economic reintegration of those affected by the conflict in the provinces of Cibitoke, Bubanza and Bujumbura Rural (P3P), the support project for the repatriation and reintegration of disaster victims (UNHCR and PARESI), the programme of voluntary return, resettlement and reintegration for displaced persons living in camps to their native hillsides and more generally through the integrated programme of support for the socio-economic reintegration of those affected by the conflict (UNDAF+) — a joint programme of the Government and the United Nations, launched in March 2010 and operating in the provinces most affected by the crisis (Cibitoke, Bubanza, Bujumbura Rural, Bururi, Makamba, Rutana, Ruyigi and Kirundo).

To reduce the risk of over-pressurizing any part of your system, which may result in component rupture, fire or explosion and cause serious bodily injury, be sure you know the maximum working pressure rating of each pump and its connected components.

Convinced that the continuing existence of nuclear weapons poses a threat to all humanity and that their use would have catastrophic consequences for all life on Earth, and recognizing that the only defence against a nuclear catastrophe is the total elimination of nuclear weapons and the certainty that they will never be produced again

A review of evidence identified areas for improvement in crisis prevention and recovery, including: the need for a more strategic and focused approach to post-conflict governance support; better mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction in UNDP programming; ensuring better strategic balance between supporting long-term recovery needs and “event-based” support; and ensuring that UNDP support leads not only to short-term benefits but to longer term development outcomes.

Least developed countries continue to be vulnerable to a variety of shocks, including food, fuel, financial and economic crises, and natural disasters, with least developed countries having to confront challenges posed by climate change and some by conflicts that have eroded some of the development gains made by least developed countries over the last decade.