Our focus at HLPF 2022 is to share our eight calls to action developed by members in reflection of the Sendai Framework Mid-Term Review – and integrate the voice of civil society on localisation and risk-informed development.
Becky Murphy, GNDR Policy Lead and UNDRR Stakeholder Engagement Mechanism (SEM) Co-Chair is representing GNDR at the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York from 5-12 July 2022.
These are the key messages coming from key sessions in day five of the conference:
GNDR had two important formal side events today where we championed the need for risk-informed development, localisation and the need for civil society to be empowered to convene the all of society approach
First, at 7:30am New York time, GNDR Policy Lead, Becky Murphy presented the connection between HLPF and the recent Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction at an official virtual side event titled: Enhancing Governance to Help Address Vulnerable Groups. Here, we championed the need to listen to local voices and meaningfully include local decision making in risk governance.
The second key space was an in-person side event hosted by UNDRR where our policy lead took this conversation forward in an event called: A Risk-Informed Approach to Development in a Covid-19 Transformed World. Here, our policy lead took forward the conversation to move beyond the need for an all government approach for an all of society approach for risk-informed development and called on those at HLPF to take this further for an all of UN approach to risk-informed development that leaves no one behind.
At the event the government representing the regional platforms (Australia, Portugal, Morocco, Kenya and Jamaica) presented on the outcomes of their regional platforms for DRR, how they fed into the Global Platform, and the need for cross border cooperation, collaboration and learning for sustainable risk-informed development.
Key messages from GNDR from both events can be found below.
In addition to this the VNR (voluntary national reviews) kicked-off, where countries have the opportunity to share their own reviews of the progress being made against the SDGs. If you are involved in your VNR let us know so we can connect and support the civil society voice here.
Key messages from GNDR sessions
- Views from the Frontline our flagship project where we collect the views of communities from 50 high risk countries from across the globe; our work continues to evidence an increasing level of risk
- Covid, climate change and conflict are all being described as super risk drivers by communities on the front line
- Those on the front line call for the urgency of this to be recognised and for global decision makers to clearly demonstrate how the second half of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda will address the increasing and systemic nature of risk, and support all related frameworks; risk-informed interventions are especially imperative across the humanitarian–development–peace nexus
- In reflection of this global context, our Stakeholder Engagement Mechanism (SEM) declaration at the Global Platform for DRR called urgently for the need for an all of government approach to meaningfully enable an all of society approach
- Within this all of government approach, the SEM also called for localisation, local financing, making sure we leave no-one behind and the need to learn from and apply knowledge and learning
- Here, today we would like to take that one step further to call for an all of United Nations approach and feel that this HLPF, and next year’s HLPF and SDG Summit – the 2030 Agenda halfway stocktaking moment – are key opportunities to make sure we are all aligned in our all of society, risk-informed approach to governance
- It is also something we hope to see coming through strongly in work on Our Common Agenda and at the Summit for the Future
- Underpinning the foundation of our SEM declaration, GNDR led a survey, in collaboration with a SEM Mid-Term Review of the Sendai Framework, exploring its members in the global south’s perceptions of our global progress on the Sendai framework
- Here, our eight calls to action recommendations came through very clearly
- When reflecting on GPDRR, the SEM and GNDR were pleased with the co-chair summary – the Bali Agenda for Resilience – as it was clear the key messages from our stakeholder forum were being heard
- In particular, messages on inclusion, collaboration, conflict, gender, listening to local knowledge and voice, investing at the local level, the importance of young people and learning from Covid-19 have all been specifically captured