IOM Engagement in the High-Level Meeting on the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030

The High-Level Meeting (HLM) of the General Assembly on the Midterm Review of the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (HLM) will take place from 18-19 May 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The HLM provides a platform for Member States, the United Nations system partners and other stakeholders to reflect on the findings and recommendations of the Midterm Review, to examine context shifts and emerging issues since 2015, and to identify course corrections and new initiatives to more effectively address the systemic nature of risk, and realize the outcomes and goals of the Sendai Framework, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement and other agreements, frameworks and conventions.

The HLM is expected to:

• Raise global awareness and generate political will and momentum to integrate risk reduction in all decision-making, investment, and behaviour in alignment with the Sendai Framework to reduce disaster risk and build resilience across sectors.
• Showcase solutions and best practices to address gaps and obstacles and announce commitments and plans to accelerate implementation.
• Encourage the adoption and application of a risk-informed and prevention-oriented approach, through multi-sector practices on disaster risk management and resilient development planning.
• Showcase the value proposition of the full implementation of the Sendai Framework for the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing States.
• Enhance national, sub-regional and international cooperation to realise risk-informed decision-making, investment, and behaviour to inform strategic foresight to prevent or prepare for future global crisis.

IOM submitted a voluntary contribution for the Midterm Review, which presents a retrospective review of IOM's work in disaster risk reduction; context shift and emerging trends; and recommendations to accelerate progress against the targets of the Sendai Framework. IOM’s DRR and Climate Change Adaptation programming builds on three decades of operational and policy work in countering risk drivers and responding to mobility challenges in disaster situations. The Organization’s DRR work aligns with the Sendai Framework priorities and strives to build the capacity of States and other actors in preventing and managing disasters and associated displacement, as well as integrating mobility dimensions in broader resilience-building efforts.
IOM’s Deputy Director General, Ugochi Daniels, will participate in-person at the Midterm Review, participating also in the Leaders’ Round Tables. 

This Midterm Review process will conclude with the issuance of a Political Declaration through the UN General Assembly. The inclusion of human mobility, migrants and the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration within the Declaration solidifies and reinforces a reality now broadly acknowledged by Member States, that climate change is driving human mobility. 
Ambitious leadership by States on adaptation and resilience building measures is necessary in order to protect communities from the worst impacts of climate change. Reducing disaster risk is IOM’s top institutional priority and a critical global governance challenge. 

One critical investment aimed at saving lives and preventing avoidable losses and damages is the Secretary General’s Early Warnings for All Initiative, launched at COP27 in Egypt last year. IOM is partnering with UNDRR, the World Meteorological Organization, the International Telecommunications Union and the International Federation of the Red Cross to implement the initiative over the coming five-year period to 2027 to ensure universal access to life saving alerts combined with preparedness and response actions at the community level.

IOM is committed to translating the mobility dimensions of reducing disaster risk into concrete actions to ensure the safety and protection of migrants and displaced persons everywhere. IOM calls on all governments and parties to adopt the IPCC’s vision to move from climate risk to climate resilient development in order to address disaster risk in the face of climate change.

8th Annual UN Senior Leadership Group on DRR for Resilience

On 17 May, the 8th annual meeting of the UN Senior Leadership Group on DRR for Resilience will be convened in New York in advance of the Sendai MTR HLM.

The UN Plan of Action is an important tool to maximize the joint impact of UN System action in support of countries to strengthen disaster and climate risk-informed development and humanitarian planning and investment with a view to leaving no one behind.

The UN Senior Leadership Group on DRR for Resilience (UN SLG) was established to ensure that disaster and climate risk reduction remain a priority for the UN System as well as to enhance cooperation, coordination, and mutual reinforcement for coherent system-wide actions.

The UN SLG is composed of UN entity representatives at Assistant Secretary-General level and is chaired by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction. During its annual meetings, the UN SLG reviews the status of the UN Plan of Action implementation based on the annual progress and formulates recommendations to prioritize actions that help address identified needs and gaps.

The UN SLG recommendations are operationalized by the UN Disaster Risk Reduction Focal Points Group, which supports the UN SLG by monitoring progress and high-level advocacy in relation to the UN Plan of Action. In addition to its regular meetings, this Group further establishes thematic task teams to advance work plan activities.

Since 2017, seven prior UN SLG meetings have been organized. IOM is presently represented in the UN SLG by its Deputy Director General for Operations and in the UN DRR Focal Points Group by the DRR Programme Lead. 

Meeting Objectives
The 8th annual meeting of the UN SLG will focus on: 

1. Reflecting on the Sendai Framework Midterm Review’s main findings and recommendations in the context of the SG’s Our Common Agenda, the 2023 SDG Summit and the Climate Ambition Summit, and the Summit of the Future in 2024. 
2. Discussing priorities for the UN system and the UN system entities’ role in accelerating the Sendai Framework implementation over the next seven years, taking into consideration the Sendai Framework Midterm Review’s main findings and recommendations. 
3. Considering a draft set of UN SLG recommendations that will help maximize the UN System’s support to countries in implementing the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and the UN Plan of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience. 

Expected Outcomes 

1. Confirmed commitment by UN SLG members to support and socialize the MTR SF recommendations to ensure that risk reduction and resilience building is part of the solutions moving the SG’s Our Common Agenda forward. 
2. Enhanced engagement of the UN SLG in supporting Member States to build resilience at the national and local level as contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals. 
3. Endorse proposed way forward to finalize the UN SLG recommendations and implementation modalities 

Risk Reduction Hub- IOM co-organized side event on Human Mobility in the Context of Disasters

On 17 May, IOM, along with UNHCR, IFRC, NRC, IDMC, GNDR, and the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD), has organized a side event entitled “Human Mobility in the Context of Disasters”, aiming to: (1) Promote the inclusion of human mobility within broader DRR concepts, policies and programming inclusive of early warning systems to prevent and prepare for disaster displacement; (2) Raise awareness around the impacts of climate change and disasters on human mobility; and (3) Highlight ongoing efforts to improve data on disaster impacts by capturing displacement, its impacts and relevant measures to address human mobility in disaster contexts while linking community and national level efforts to global disaster loss accounting. This side event is part of the Risk Reduction Hub, organized on the margins of the official sessions of the HLM MTR SF to include an array of side events and thematic engagements to discuss advancing risk reduction efforts.