Combating Sand and Dust Storms

A/RES/73/237No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 20jCombating sand and dust storms, published in 2019.

What other versions does this mandate have?

11 versions · 2016–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/143

2025A/RES/80/143Combating sand and dust stormsLatestCompare with previous version
2024A/RES/79/212Combating sand and dust stormsCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/158Combating sand and dust stormsCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/77/171Combating sand and dust stormsCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/211Combating sand and dust stormsCompare with previous version

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

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 topics

Conferences Coordination Within UN System Disaster Prevention Sand Dunes Storms

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2019.

2019A/74/263Combating sand and dust storms report of the Secretary-General

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

What does this mandate say?

17 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;

Recognizes that sand and dust storms and the unsustainable land management practices, among other factors, that can cause or exacerbate these phenomena, including climate change, pose a serious challenge to the sustainable development of affected countries and regions, also recognizes that, in the past few years, sand and dust storms have inflicted substantial economic, social and environmental damage on the inhabitants of the world’s arid, semi-arid and dry subhumid areas, especially in Africa and Asia, and underscores the need to treat them and to promptly take measures to address those challenges;

Welcomes the convening of a high-level interactive dialogue on sand and dust storms, held at Headquarters in New York on 16 July 2018, bringing together Member States, United Nations entities, regional commissions and other stakeholders to discuss action-oriented recommendations and address the challenges faced by the affected countries, including ways to improve policy coordination at the global level to tackle those challenges in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, during which the continuing need to confront the multiple challenges presented by sand and dust storms was highlighted;

Acknowledges the role of the United Nations development system in advancing international cooperation and support to combat sand and dust storms, and invites all relevant bodies, agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system, including the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Forum on Forests, the World Meteorological Organization, the World Health Organization, the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and all other related organizations to integrate, in their respective cooperation frameworks, operational programmes, measures and actions aimed at combating sand and dust storms so as to address this problem and contribute to the enhancement of, inter alia, capacity-building at the national level, the implementation of regional and subregional projects, the sharing of information, best practices and experiences and the boosting of technical cooperation in the affected countries and countries of origin, to improve the implementation of sustainable land management practices, to take measures to prevent and control the main factors of sand and dust storms and to improve the development of early warning systems as tools to combat sand and dust storms in accordance with their strategic plans;

Welcomes the intention of the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme to establish an inter-agency network involving relevant entities of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates and existing resources, with the aim of enhancing United Nations system-wide cooperation and coordination on the sand and dust storms agenda, and encourages all relevant agencies to continue to work closely to support the network and to ensure a more coherent and consistent approach to tackling sand and dust storm issues at the global, regional and national levels, as appropriate;

Recognizes the importance of new and innovative technologies and best practices in combating sand and dust storms, as well as their sharing and transfer on mutually agreed terms;

Encourages regional, subregional and interregional organizations and processes to continue to share best practices, experiences and technical expertise in combating sand and dust storms to address the root causes and impacts of sand and dust storms, including through improved implementation of sustainable land management practices, and to promote regional cooperation in this matter to reduce the risks and impact of future sand and dust storms and to provide affected countries with capacity-building and technical support from the relevant United Nations organizations, such as the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Health Organization, within their respective mandates, to this end;

Invites all affected Member States as well as relevant entities of the United Nations development system, regional organizations and other relevant stakeholders to endeavour to meet the objectives set out in the present resolution;

Reaffirms that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time and, among other factors, is a serious challenge to the sustainable development of all countries, including those affected by sand and dust storms, and emphasizes that, among other factors, climate change is an important potential contributor to future wind erosion and the risk of sand and dust storms, especially the occurrence of more extreme wind events and the movement towards drier climates, although reverse effects are possible;

Recognizes that sand and dust storms cause numerous human health problems in different regions around the world, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, and that there is a need to reinforce protective strategies to reduce the negative impacts of sand and dust storms on human health, invites the World Health Organization, with the cooperation of other relevant United Nations entities, as appropriate, to support affected countries in combating health problems caused by sand and dust storms, within their respective mandates, welcomes the formation of a working group on sand and dust storms to discuss emerging issues and share information under the Global Platform on Air Quality and Health of the World Health Organization, and also welcomes the finalization of a report on the health effects of sand and dust storms as part of the current update to the World Health Organization air quality guidelines, and the development of standard operating procedures to assess and address the short-term health effects of desert dust by the World Health Organization, in collaboration with experts from the World Meteorological Organization;

Emphasizes that sand and dust storm issues will constitute important components of the global coalition on health, environment and climate change launched in May 2018 by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization to improve coordination and reduce the 12.6 million deaths each year that are attributed to environmental risks, especially air pollution;

Commends the United Nations Environment Assembly on its commitment to addressing sand and dust storms, and in this regard notes Environment Assembly resolution 2/21 on sand and dust storms, adopted during its second session;4

Notes the convening of the third session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi from 4 to 6 December 2017, under the theme “Towards a pollution-free planet”, affirms the importance of addressing sand and dust storms in the context of international efforts against air pollution, and takes note with appreciation of its ministerial declaration;

Welcomes the thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, held in Ordos, China, from 6 to 16 September 2017, notes with appreciation the Ordos Declaration and other relevant outcomes adopted by the parties during the Conference, namely decision 31/COP.13,5 invites the organizations of the United Nation system to support their implementation, and reaffirms the importance of addressing sand and dust storms under the Convention;

Encourages the relevant entities of the United Nations, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Meteorological Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat, and donors to provide capacity-building and technical assistance for combating sand and dust storms and to support the implementation of the national, regional and global action plans of the affected countries;

Acknowledges the global assessment of sand and dust storms prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme in collaboration with other relevant United Nations entities, including the World Meteorological Organization and the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which sets out proposals for consolidated and coordinated technical and policy options for responding to sand and dust storms;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution, and decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-fourth session, under the item entitled “Sustainable development”, the sub-item entitled “Combating sand and dust storms”, unless otherwise agreed.

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