The Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations in Geneva today hosted an informal Ambassador-level meeting, organized in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), devoted to strengthening the inclusion of persons with disabilities in disaster risk reduction (DRR) policies. The initiative forms part of the commitments undertaken by Italy through the 2024 G7 Solfagnano Charter and the pledge made at the 34th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
At the opening of the meeting, Italy reiterated the priority it attaches to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action, human rights and disaster risk reduction, also recalling the new Civil Protection guidelines and the instruments of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNDRR, Kamal Kishore, described inclusion as an “indicator of the quality of risk governance”, thanking Italy for its leadership on this issue. He nonetheless pointed to insufficient progress over the past decade, as shown by a UNDRR survey covering 122 countries, and identified four priorities: improving the collection of disaggregated data, ensuring inclusive planning and early warning systems, securing adequate financing and expanding access to technologies.
In the discussion, participating countries, including the Czech Republic, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Kenya, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico and Finland, highlighted national challenges and good practices, underlining the importance of support for UNDRR, the mainstreaming of disability and multilateral cooperation.
The Director of UNDRR, Paola Albrito, stressed that inclusion is central to strengthening resilience, noting that only 31 of the 167 States that share data with UNDRR provide disaggregated information. Italy confirmed its commitment to promoting inclusion throughout the entire disaster risk management cycle and to working with UNDRR and other stakeholders to enhance the visibility of this issue in Geneva and to foster renewed political momentum towards truly inclusive DRR systems, capable of responding to the challenges posed by crises, disasters and climate change.
