A/RES/70/203
World Tsunami Awareness Day
Recalling its resolution 69/219 of 19 December 2014 and reaffirming that, in
2009, the General Assembly designated 13 October as the date to commemorate the
International Day for Disaster Reduction, 1
Recognizing the support for the creation of a World Tsunami Day, expressed in
the Leaders’ Declaration of the seventh Japan-Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting, held
on 22 and 23 May 2015, and in the New Tokyo Strategy 2015 for Mekong-Japan
Cooperation, adopted at the Seventh Mekong-Japan Summit on 4 July 2015,
Reaffirming its resolutions 53/199 of 15 December 1998 and 61/185 of
20 December 2006 on the proclamation of international years, and Economic and
Social Council resolution 1980/67 of 25 July 1980 on international years and
anniversaries, particularly paragraphs 1 to 10 of the annex thereto on the agreed
criteria for the proclamation of international years/days, as well as paragraphs 13
and 14, which state that an international year/day should not be proclaimed bef ore
the basic arrangements for its organization and financing have been made,
Emphasizing that tsunamis have claimed many lives and caused tremendous
damage and are a common challenge for many countries, as was witnessed, inter
alia, in Chile in 1960, in the Philippines in 1976, in Papua New Guinea in 1998, in
Turkey in 1999, in Peru in 2001, in the coastal States of the Indian Ocean in 2004,
off the coast of Samoa and Tonga in 2009 and in eastern Japan in 2011,
Recognizing the significance of preparedness and the prompt dissemination of
information through early warning systems, the use of traditional knowledge and the
concept of “Building back better” in the recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction
phases in order to protect the lives of people and prevent the damage caused by
tsunamis, as referred to in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 –
2030,
1.
Decides to designate 5 November as World Tsunami Awareness Day; 2
2.
Invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations syst em,
other international and regional organizations, as well as civil society, including
non-governmental organizations and individuals, to observe World Tsunami
Awareness Day in an appropriate manner and in accordance with national priorities,
in order to raise public awareness of the risk caused by tsunamis;
3.
Requests the secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction, in collaboration with relevant organizations of the United Nations
system, mindful of the provisions of the annex to Economic and Social Council
resolution 1980/67, to facilitate the observance of World Tsunami Awareness Day,
and stresses that the cost of all activities that may arise from the implementation of
the present resolution should be met from voluntary contribut ions.
81st plenary meeting
22 December 2015
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1
2
2/2
See resolution 64/200.
The designation of 5 November comes from the “Inamura-no-hi” anecdote about a villager who,
on 5 November 1854, at the expense of his property, saved the lives of village inhabitants by
setting fire to his sheaves of rice, thus quickly disseminating information about a tsunami, leading
to the evacuation of the village, which he then made an effort to build back better .