ESCAP, in collaboration with Rehabilitation International and the Nippon Foundation, organized the “Asia-Pacific Meeting on Disability-inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction: Changing Mindsets through Knowledge” in Sendai, Japan, on 22 and 23 April 2014.
The Meeting solidified the voice from 130 experts on disaster risk reduction and disability policy, as well as representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities from more than 15 countries into an outcome document entitled “Sendai Statement to Promote Disability-Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilient, Inclusive and Equitable Societies in Asia and the Pacific”.
Given the higher effect of disasters on persons with disabilities, the Sendai Statement requests the explicit and systematic inclusion of disability dimensions into the post-2015 global disaster risk reduction framework, so that the resilience and chances of survival of all persons in the community are increased. The Statement includes 14 specific actions to be taken by Governments, UN entities and development cooperation agencies, and 4 strategic action points for taking forward disability inclusion into the post-2015 disaster risk reduction framework.
The Government of Japan reiterated its willingness to cooperate with ESCAP for promoting disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction (Goal 7 of the Incheon Strategy), and to include the disability dimension in their DRR work leading up to the Global Conference on DRR in 2015.
The detailed information on the meeting is accessible from http://www.unescapsdd.org/events/asia-pacific-meeting-disability-inclusive-disaster-risk-reduction.