Roundtable on Disability-Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction Revisiting Hyogo Framework of Action
20, November 2012, Bangkok
Co-hosted by:
Assistive Technology Development Organization (ATDO)
DAISY CONSORTIUM
DAISY Thailand
in collaboration with Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD)
During my participation in the WBU General Assembly in Bangkok, I was invited by ATDO to participate in this round table discussion. The objectives were to support the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to implement the “Goal 7 Ensure disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction and management” of the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific, the Roundtable meeting invited experts on DRR, experts on cutting edge accessible ICT, representatives of concerned international organizations including UN Agencies and, most importantly, representatives of persons with print disabilities who have been segregated from mainstream DRR documentation and knowledge.
The meeting shared lessons learned from disasters in Asia and the Pacific in the past few years, in particular from the report on higher death rate of persons with disabilities compared to non-disabled residents at the North East Japan Earthquake on 11th March 2011, and discussed a paradigm shift “from rescue to empowerment” in disaster preparedness development strategy which is essential for survival of persons with disabilities in severe natural disasters.
Based on the evidence and discussion, the Roundtable revisited the Hyogo Framework of Action 2005-2015 to develop disability-inclusive DRR strategy in the light of the guidance document for the 3rd Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022, the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific declared by ESCAP member states on 2nd November 2012.
The Roundtable closely followed the guidance documents to strengthen the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters” with a focus on prevention of the loss of lives at disasters for everybody including persons with disabilities.