e nvironmental management
and the mitigation of
natural disasters
5. The Commission also recognizes that women’s
strengths in dealing with disasters and supporting
their families and communities should be built
upon following disasters to rebuild and restore their
communities and mitigate against future disasters.
6. The Commission recognizes the need to enhance
1. The Commission on the Status of Women recalls
women’s capacities and institutional mechanisms
to respond to disasters in order to enhance gender
equality and the empowerment of women.
that in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action, it was recognized that environmental degradation and disasters affect all human lives and
often have a more direct impact on women and
that it was recommended that the role of women
and the environment be further investigated.
The twenty-third special session of the General
Assembly (2000) identified natural disasters as a
current challenge affecting the full implementation of the Platform for Action and emphasized
the need to incorporate a gender perspective in
the development and implementation of disaster
prevention, mitigation and recovery strategies. The
Commission also recalls the resolve in the United
Nations Millennium Declaration (General Assembly
resolution 55/2) to intensify cooperation to reduce
the number and effects of natural and man-made
disasters, as well as General Assembly resolution
46/182, which contained the guiding principles on
humanitarian assistance.
7.
The Commission urges Governments and,
as appropriate, also urges the relevant
funds and programmes, organizations
and the specialized agencies of the United
Nations system, the international financial institutions, civil society, including the
private sector and NGOs, and other stakeholders, to take the following actions
to accelerate implementation of these
strategic objectives to address the needs
of all women:
2. Deeply convinced that economic development,
(a) Pursue gender equality and gender-sensitive
social development and environmental protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing
components of sustainable development, which is
the framework for our efforts to achieve a higher
quality of life for all people.
environmental management and disaster reduction, response and recovery as an integral part of
sustainable development;
(b) Take measures to integrate a gender perspective
in the design and implementation of, among other
things, environmentally sound and sustainable
resource and disaster management mechanisms
and establish mechanisms to review such efforts;
3. The Commission reiterates the strategic objec-
tives and actions adopted by the Fourth World
Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995,
and in the outcome document of the twenty-third
special session of the General Assembly, held in
New York in 2000, entitled “Women 2000: gender
equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”.
(c) Ensure the full participation of women in sustain-
able development decision-making and disaster
reduction management at all levels;
(d) Ensure the full enjoyment by women and girls of all
4. The Commission recognizes that women play a vital
human rights — civil, cultural, economic, political and
social, including the right to development — including in disaster reduction, response and recovery; in
this context, special attention should be given to the
prevention and prosecution of gender-based violence;
role in disaster reduction (prevention, mitigation and
preparedness), response and recovery and in natural resources management, that disaster situations
aggravate vulnerable conditions and that some
women face particular vulnerabilities in this context.
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