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Aide-memoire
I. Introduction
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), in response to
the tsunami which caused extensive loss of life and
damage in a number of its member countries, is organizing
a regional workshop focused on the impact of the tsunami
on vulnerable groups and women from 21 to 23 November
2005 in Phuket, Thailand. The meeting will focus on
five tsunami-affected countries of the Asia-Pacific
region. Participants will include representatives
of governments, non-governmental and civil society
organizations; academia and human rights commissions.
It will be a forum for the voices of "vulnerable
groups", to exchange views, consider lessons
learned and make recommendations for policies and
planning that would be relevant to any country. The
adopted conclusions and recommendations of the meeting
will be shared at the sixty-second Commission session
of UNESCAP to be hosted by the Government of Indonesia
in April 2006. In addition, the outcome of the workshop
will inform the planning of tsunami-related work of
UNESCAP in the Asia-Pacific region and will provide
lessons learned for south-south cooperation and knowledge
sharing on lessening the impact of natural disasters
on people who have been made vulnerable by discrimination,
exclusion, economic policies, conflicts and other
situations.
II. Background
From various natural disasters that have affected
countries in the UNESCAP region, it is clear that
all victims do not have equal access to relief and
opportunities in both the emergency and reconstruction
phases. This has been partly due to constraints in
mobility, such as those affecting different segments
of the population, namely the very young, the aged
as well as persons with disabilities. Women, as care-givers
are often unable to leave dependents alone for long
periods of time and thus have limited access to services,
supplies, information and opportunities. Further,
these same groups tend to be neither seen nor heard
to the same extent as others and are therefore often
not consulted and cannot participate in the planning
and reconstruction phases.
III. Objectives
The overall objective of the meeting is to adopt
a set of recommendations focused on planning and policies
that can be drawn from the experiences of "vulnerable
groups" and women at national level which are
applicable to other countries of the Asia and the
Pacific region as well as other regions. Issues such
as was in which governments can support self help
initiates, approaches to development such as use of
a participatory approach and mechanisms such as multi-stakeholder
networks will also be explored. It will be an opportunity
for representatives of the Government, non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), academic institutions and others
to share experiences.
IV. Expected Outputs and Outcomes
The regional meeting is expected to result in the
following:
- A set of lessons learned and forward-looking
recommendations and collaboratively developed policy
guidance.
- A publication incorporating the research and
outcome of national-level workshops held in Indonesia,
Sri Lanka and Thailand along with te outcome of
the regional workshop.
- A better understanding by decision-makers of
what specific groups have experienced, how certain
factors make some people more vulnerable in times
of disasters and possible steps that can be taken
to improve potential outcomes for such groups. The
way that women may be affected differently from
men and the policy implications will also be considered.
- Guidance for the work of UNESCAP in disaster-affected
Member States.
V. Method of Work
A number of representatives of government, civil
society and the human rights commission in each of
the five countries will share their experiences focusing
on the situation of vulnerable groups, lessons learned
and policy or planning-oriented recommendations. Panel
discussions will centre around specific themes or
groups. A set of recommendations drawing from the
recommendations adopted at the Indonesia, Sri Lanka
and Thailand national workshops and including any
additions by India and Maldives, will be adopted.
Interpretation will not be provided. English will
be the working language of the meeting. In order to
assist the secretariat in providing copies of documents
to participants, it would be appreciated if English
versions of presentations could be made available.
VI. Profile of Participants
In selecting the participants, efforts have been
made to reach a balance of governmental and non-governmental
organizations and offices, including academia as well
as stakeholders from “vulnerable groups”
affected by the tsunami or working on post-tsunami
reconstruction and planning.
Contact
Ms Beverly Lynn Jones
Social Affairs Officer
Gender and Development Section
Emerging Social Issues Division, UNESCAP
E-mail: jones@un.org
Meetint Documents
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