International Cooperation on Humanitarian Assistance in the Field of Natural Disasters, From Relief to Development

A/RES/56/103No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 20aStrengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations, published in 2002.

What other versions does this mandate have?

27 versions · 2000–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/113

2025A/RES/80/113International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to developmentLatestCompare with previous version
2024A/RES/79/139International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to developmentCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/120International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to developmentCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/77/29International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to developmentCompare with previous version
2021A/RES/76/128International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to developmentCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2002.

2002A/57/578International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

22 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on international cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development and on strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations;

Expresses deep concern at the increasing number and scale of natural disasters, resulting in massive losses of life and property worldwide, in particular in vulnerable societies lacking adequate capacity to mitigate effectively the long-term negative social, economic and environmental consequences of natural disasters;

Calls upon all States to adopt, where required, and to continue to implement effectively necessary legislative and other appropriate measures to mitigate the effects of natural disasters, inter alia, by disaster prevention, including building regulations and appropriate land use, as well as disaster preparedness and capacity-building in disaster response, and requests the international community in that context to continue to assist developing countries, where appropriate;

Stresses, in that context, the importance of strengthening international cooperation in the provision of humanitarian assistance in support of the efforts of the affected States in dealing with natural disasters in all their phases, from relief and mitigation to development, including through the provision of adequate resources, and encourages the effective use of multilateral mechanisms;

Also stresses that humanitarian assistance for natural disasters should be provided in accordance with and with due respect for the guiding principles contained in the annex to resolution 46/182, and should be determined on the basis of the human dimension and needs arising out of the particular natural disasters;

Recognizes that economic growth and sustainable development contribute to improving the capacity of States to mitigate, respond to and prepare for natural disasters;

Reaffirms that disaster reduction forms an integral part of sustainable development strategies and needs to be considered in the development plans of all vulnerable countries and communities, and also reaffirms that within such preventive strategies, disaster preparedness and early warning systems must be strengthened further at the country and regional levels, inter alia, through better coordination among relevant United Nations bodies and cooperation with Governments of affected countries and regional and other relevant organizations with the aim of maximizing the effectiveness of natural disaster response and reducing the impact of natural disasters, particularly in developing countries;

Emphasizes the importance of enhanced international cooperation, including with the United Nations and regional organizations, to assist developing countries in their efforts to build capacities, and to predict, prepare and respond to natural disasters;

Stresses the need for partnership among Governments of the affected countries, relevant humanitarian organizations and specialized companies to promote training in, access to and use of technologies to strengthen preparedness for and response to natural disasters, and to enhance the transfer of current technologies and corresponding know-how, in particular to developing countries, on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed;

Encourages the further use of space-based and ground-based remote-sensing technologies for the prevention, mitigation and management of natural disasters, where appropriate;

Also encourages in such operations the sharing of geographical data, including remotely sensed images and geographic information system and global positioning system data among Governments, space agencies and relevant international humanitarian organizations, as appropriate, and notes in that context the work being done by the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters and the Global Disaster Information Network;

Stresses that particular international cooperation efforts should be undertaken to enhance and broaden further the utilization of national and local capacities and, where appropriate, regional and subregional capacities of developing countries for disaster preparedness and response, which may be made available in closer proximity to the site of a disaster, more efficiently and at lower cost;

Welcomes the role of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat as the focal point within the overall United Nations system for the promotion and coordination of disaster response preparedness among the United Nations humanitarian agencies and other humanitarian partners;

Also welcomes the establishment of the positions of regional disaster response advisers by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as well as the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme to establish regional disaster reduction adviser positions, and encourages the further development of those initiatives in a coordinated and complementary manner in order to assist developing countries in capacity-building for disaster prevention, preparedness mitigation and response;

Takes note of the initiatives taken by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and by the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of international urban search and rescue assistance in the aftermath of natural disasters;

Encourages the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to continue its efforts to promote greater international cooperation to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of urban search and rescue assistance;

Encourages further cooperation between the United Nations system and regional organizations in order to increase the capacity of those organizations to respond to natural disasters;

Encourages States that have not signed or ratified the Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations, adopted at Tampere, Finland, on 18 June 1998, to consider doing so;

Invites the United Nations system to explore further the concept of transitional recovery teams for providing assistance for bridging relief assistance and development cooperation;

Requests the Secretary-General, in collaboration with relevant organization partners, to continue progress on compiling a directory of disaster mitigation capacity existing at the national, regional and international levels and developing the Directory of Advanced Technologies for Disaster Response as a new part of the Central Register of Disaster Management Capacities;

Also requests the Secretary-General to complete the project of issuing a global report on disaster reduction as undertaken by the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction;

Further requests the Secretary-General to continue to consider mechanisms to improve the international response to natural disasters, inter alia, by addressing any geographical and sectoral imbalances in such a response, where they exist, as well as by more effective use of national emergency response agencies, taking into account their comparative advantages and specializations, as well as existing arrangements, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session under the item entitled “Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance”, with a view, inter alia, to contributing towards the comprehensive report on the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, to be submitted to the Assembly at that session under the item entitled “Environment and sustainable development”.

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International Cooperation on Humanitarian Assistance in the Field of Natural Disasters, From Relief to Development

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