International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development A/RES/69/243 natural disasters, in order to cooperate effectively in providing humanitarian assistance to those in need and ensure that their collaborative efforts adhere to the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence; 26. Recognizes that information and telecommunications technology can play an important role in disaster response, encourages Member States to develop emergency response telecommunications capacities and encourages the international community to assist the efforts of developing countries in this area, where needed, including in the recovery phase, and in this regard encourages Member States that have not acceded to or ratified the Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations 7 to consider doing so; 27. Encourages the further use of space-based and ground-based remotesensing technologies, including as provided by the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER), as well as the sharing of geographical data, for the prevention, mitigation and management of natural disasters, where appropriate, and invites Member States to continue to provide their support to the consolidation of the United Nations capability in the area of satellite-derived geographical information for early warning, preparedness, response and early recovery; 28. Recognizes the opportunities for new technologies, when utilized in a coordinated fashion and based on humanitarian principles, potentially to improve the effectiveness and accountability of humanitarian response, and encourages Member States, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners to consider engaging, inter alia, with the volunteer and technical communities in order to make use of the variety of data and information available during emergencies and disaster risk efforts; 29. Encourages Member States, relevant United Nations organizations and international financial institutions to enhance the global capacity for sustainable post-disaster recovery in areas such as coordination with traditional and non-traditional partners, identification and dissemination of lessons learned, development of common tools and mechanisms for recovery needs assessment, strategy development and programming, and incorporation of risk reduction into all recovery processes, and welcomes the ongoing efforts to this end; 30. Encourages Member States and the United Nations system to support national initiatives that address the differentiated impacts of natural disasters on the affected population, including through the collection and analysis of data disaggregated, inter alia, by sex, age and disability, using, inter alia, the existing information provided by States, and through the development of tools, methods and procedures that will result in more timely and useful initial needs assessments that lead to targeted and more effective assistance, and taking into account the environmental impact; 31. Calls upon United Nations humanitarian organizations, in consultation with Member States, as appropriate, to strengthen the evidence base for effective humanitarian assistance by further developing common mechanisms to improve the quality, transparency and reliability of, and make further progress towards, common humanitarian needs assessments, to assess their performance in assistance and to ensure the most effective use of humanitarian resources by these organizations; _______________ 7 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2296, No. 40906. 7/10