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The second session of the
Preparatory Committee for the World
Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR)
met at the Palais des Nations in Geneva,
Switzerland, from 11-12 October 2004.
Over 400 participants attended the
meeting, including representatives of
106 UN Member States, as well as UN
agencies, intergovernmental
organizations and non-governmental
organizations (NGOs).
The Preparatory Committee was
established to review the organizational
and substantive preparations for the
WCDR, approve its programme of work and
propose rules of procedure for the
Conference. In particular, the
Preparatory Committee is charged with
the preparation of two outcome documents
for adoption at the WCDR: a political
declaration with a strategic vision to
reduce risk and vulnerability to natural
and technological hazards in the period
2005-2015, and a programme document
containing elements for policy measures
to implement the strategic vision set
out in the declaration, tentatively
entitled “Building the Resilience of
Nations and Communities to Disasters:
Elements for a Programme of Action,
2005-2015” (referred to as the
“programme of action”). An ongoing
review of the implementation of the 1994
Yokohama Strategy for a Safer World and
its Plan of Action is intended to
provide the context for these documents.
Building on discussions at the
Preparatory Committee’s first session
and intersessional activities, delegates
to the second session considered a new
version of the draft programme of
action. Discussion on the political
declaration is expected to begin once
further progress on the programme of
action has been achieved. In addition,
delegates attending the Preparatory
Committee addressed: the accreditation
of NGOs and other major groups to the
preparatory process and the WCDR; the
provisional rules of procedure for the
preparatory process and the WCDR; the
proposed format and draft agenda of the
WCDR; and the proposed “partnerships
mechanism.” Delegates also heard a
progress report on the preparatory
process of the WCDR and discussed the
draft review of the Yokohama Strategy
for a Safer World and its Plan of
Action.
At the conclusion of the second session,
participants agreed to establish an
open-ended drafting committee to
continue working on the draft programme
of action, which will meet regularly in
Geneva until Friday, 14 January 2005.
The drafting group will also consider
the draft political declaration.
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