On International Day for Disaster Reduction (13 October 2013), Irina Bokova, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), delivered a message on the theme “People with disabilities in disasters”, stressing that natural disasters are increasing in frequency, complexity, scope of impact and destructive power.
Even though disasters cannot be prevented, the world can do more to prevent and reduce their impact.
The Director-General of UNESCO called for people with disabilities to take part in all efforts to reduce the impact of disasters. Representing about 10% of the world’s population, or about 650 million people, people with disabilities are often forgotten throughout disaster management, especially in the response phase, and are very rarely seen as important actors – even though they are often the people most affected.
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
According to Ms Bokova, countries will have to continue to comply with the principles of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which states that people with disabilities must benefit from and take part in developing disaster relief, emergency response and disaster risk reduction strategies.
Prejudice and discrimination need to be set aside by ensuring the participation of everyone. Adults and children with disabilities play an extremely important role in strengthening resilience before and after disasters.
In her message, the Director-General of UNESCO also stressed that communication plays an important role in promoting information exchange between people with disabilities and humanitarian agencies in disaster situations, and called on governments and relevant agencies to join hands in reflecting the concerns of people with disabilities, in order to minimise disaster risk./.
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