A UNITED NATIONS General Assembly Distr. GENERAL A/RES/50/117 16 February 1996 Fiftieth session Agenda item 96 (f) RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY [on the report of the Second Committee (A/50/618/Add.5)] 50/117. International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction A The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 44/236 of 22 December 1989, 48/188 of 21 December 1993, 49/22 A of 2 December 1994 and 49/22 B of 20 December 1994, Expressing its solidarity with the people and countries that suffer as a result of natural disasters, Emphasizing once again the urgent need for concrete measures to reduce the vulnerability of societies to natural hazards, the loss of human lives and the heavy physical and economic damage that occur as a result of natural disasters, in particular in developing countries, small island States and land-locked countries, Reiterating the validity of the conclusions of the first World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction, held at Yokohama, Japan, from 23 to 27 May 1994, in particular with regard to its call for increased bilateral, subregional, regional and multilateral cooperation in the field of disaster prevention, preparedness and mitigation, 1/ Commending those countries, national and local institutions, organizations and associations that have adopted policies, allocated resources and initiated action programmes, including international assistance, for 1/ 96-76669 See A/CONF.172/9, chap. I. /...