Asian leaders discuss protection of people displaced by disasters

David Lozada

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Asian leaders discuss protection of people displaced by disasters
More people are displaced by disasters than by conflicts. In 2013, there were more people forced to leave their homes in the Philippines than there were in 4 continents combined.

MANILA, Philippines – Did you know that there are more people displaced by disasters than by conflicts? Did you know that, in 2013, there were more people forced to leave their homes in the Philippines than there were in 4 continents combined?

According to Professor Walter Kaelin, envoy of the Nansen Initiative (NI), millions of people worldwide are displaced by earthquakes, floods, wind storms, droughts and other natural hazards every year. Many of these people are forced to move around their countries or flee abroad due to the “insufficient” responses of international and national bodies. 

“It’s the governments that have the primary responsibility to provide protection and assistance to their people including those who are displaced. But this remains a huge challenge – how should they deal with those displaced across borders?” Kaelin said. 

Learning from its experiences in past disasters, the Philippines hosts from October 15 to 17 NI’s regional consultations for Southeast Asia. This is to better understand the underlying causes of human mobility in disasters and come up with solutions that governments and international bodies can undertake.

The Nansen Initiative is a state-led, bottom-up consultative process. It is intended to build consensus around a protection agenda that will address the needs of people displaced across international borders due to climate change and disasters. It was launched in October 2012 by the governments of Norway and Switzerland. The Philippines is a founding member of the group.  

Region in hazard

Kaelin stressed the importance of the consultations for Southeast Asia, one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to disasters. 

According to the data collected by NI, some 24.55 million people were displaced in the region in the last 5 years. In 2013 alone, around 7.14 million people were displaced. In some years, the total increases following a mega-disaster. 

The Philippines’ experience, Kaelin said, is an example of how disasters affect people displacement. Among the world’s most populous countries, the Philippines is the most disaster-prone according to the 2012 World Risk Report. 

HOMELESS SURVIVORS. Up to 14,500 Yolanda (Haiyan) survivors still live in tents as of July 2014, the government says. File photo by Franz Lopez/Rappler

When Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) ravaged the Visayas in November 2013, more than 4 million people were forced out of their homes. This is a million more than those affected by disasters in Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania combined. (READ: Haiyan-displaced families ‘forced’ to occupy forests)

Kaelin said the discussions will move around 3 themes, namely:

  • How to avoid people displacement by improving disaster response, mitigation and climate change adaptation strategies
  • Finding solutions for cross-border and internal displacement
  • How disasters are affecting migrant populations in the region

International disaster response dialogue

The 2nd Global Conference on Disaster Response Dialogue (DRD) was also held in Manila October 13-14, highlighting the importance of improving trust and cooperation among different international and national bodies for better humanitarian responses to disasters.

According to Charles-Antoine Hofmann, executive secretary of the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR), the conference aimed to streamline responses from national governments and international groups.

“It is critical to make sure that the right assistance is provided to victims of disasters in the right form and in the right way. We all know that there is a growing diversity in terms of responding to disasters, different actors are engaged,” Hofmann said.

He added, “This is a trend that we are acknowledging and in that sense, the conference was unique as it involved all the stakeholders.” 

Navy Warrant Officer Chuck Connors of the Australian Embassy (right), welcomes the civilian AusMAT on their arrival at Mactan-Cebu to help in the Yolanda rehabilitation. File photo from CPL Glen McCarthy, Australian Department of Defence.

Philippine officials drew their recommendations from their experience with Yolanda, where, for the first few weeks, there was lack of coordination from international groups and the government. (READ: Delayed Yolanda rehab: Money not reaching LGUs)

“The goal was to identify some concrete recommendations for better cooperation on disaster preparedness and response. Indeed, more efforts are needed from international responders to adapt to existing national coordination mechanisms rather than to complicate or supplant them,” Hofmann said.

Among the recommendations from the conference were:

  • measures to improve transparency in the spending of international relief funds
  • the development of clear national rules in managing international relief
  • ways to build trust and confidence between foreign and local responders. 

Sendai 2015

The consultations with governments, international aid groups, the academe, and the private sector will conclude on Friday, October 17. The conclusions from the meetings will be compiled in a document that contains messages and concerns on disasters and cross-border displacement in the region.

Among other expected outcomes, the consultations aim to identify:

  • best practices in disaster response and mitigation
  • needed programs and institutions that address the rights of displaced people
  • agreement on the displacement challenges and recommendations to address them

The results from both conferences will be consolidated in a global consultation in 2015. The results of the consultation will then be presented and discussed in the 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction – where world leaders are expected to craft new disaster risk reduction policies – in Sendai, Japan set for March 14-18, 2015.

Sendai, the capital of Miyagi Prefecture, was one of the cities heavily damaged by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

The Philippines’ hosting of the two events, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), “demonstrates the country’s commitment to contribute cutting-edge global discussions on dealing with disasters and human mobility crises.”

The disaster response conferences are also held in the country in light of President Benigno Aquino III’s call to world leaders in the September 23 UN Climate Summit to help ensure “climate smart development” in the Philippines.

Aquino’s address was met with critical response from local non-governmental organizations primarily because the president did not commit to implement “long-awaited local climate plans.” – Rappler.com

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