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Human Rights Commissioner Löning: disaster reduction is increasingly important
Markus Löning, the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office, issued the following statement today (12 October) to mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction on 13 October:
More and more people around the world are being affected more frequently by natural disasters. These include floods, droughts and earthquakes which wreak ever more devastating damage.
In the light of these developments, effective global disaster reduction is increasingly important. Successful disaster reduction lessens the impact of natural disasters, mitigates the suffering of those affected and diminishes material damage.
The German Government funds disaster reduction measures within the framework of humanitarian assistance and focuses in particular on those measures which enhance the ability to react of especially vulnerable population groups.
13 October was declared the International Day for Disaster Reduction on 21 December 2009 (General Assembly resolution 64/200).
In 2011, the Federal Foreign Office launched a Preparedness Initiative to make disaster reduction and the response to crises more prominent on the international agenda. Together with states which are at particular risk from natural disasters, international organizations, donor countries and NGOs are to use the experience they have gathered around the world to draw up concrete recommendations on better preparedness for natural disasters and to foster their implementation.
