ParlAmericas at the VI Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas
From June 20 to 22, ParlAmericas participated in the VI Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas, held in Cartagena, Colombia.
The event, hosted by the Government of Colombia in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), was an opportunity for subject experts, stakeholders and policy makers to exchange experiences and good practices regarding the implementation of the Regional Action Plan, adopted in March 2017 in Montreal, Canada, as a guide for the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas.
Member of the National Assembly of Ecuador, Ana Belén Marín, Vice President of the ParlAmericas Parliamentary Network on Climate Change, contributed a legislative perspective to the panel Gender, Women’s Empowerment and Resilience. Through her presentation, Ms. Marín stressed that: “It is fundamental to call for reducing gender disparities in climate change and promoting equitable participation of women in decision making on disaster risk reduction.”
Likewise, member of the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina, Juan Carlos Villalonga, participated on ParlAmericas behalf in the session on the Sendai Framework, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Climate Change. During his intervention, Mr. Villalonga highlighted the key role of national parliaments to contribute to the implementation of the Framework by creating an integrating approach that assures disaster risk is considered in national budgets and government spending accounts across all sectors.
While in Cartagena, the ParlAmericas delegation held a bilateral meeting with Mami Matzutori, Assistant Secretary-General UN and Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction to reaffirm continued cooperation between ParlAmericas and the UNISDR, including through the ongoing development of the Parliamentary Protocol for Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation to Climate Change, to support parliaments across the Americas and the Caribbean to align national legislation with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
ParlAmericas thanks Global Affairs Canada for the support that made our engagement in these meetings possible. For further information on ParlAmericas’ work in Climate Change contact us at parlamericascc@parlamericas.org. Follow the Parliamentary Network on Climate Change (PNCC) on Twitter using the hashtag #ParlAmericasCC.
