Territories/Autonomous Countries eligible to participate in World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction to be held in Japan

General Assembly Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction Sendai, Japan 

(14-18 March 2015) 

The third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction will be held from Saturday, 14 to Wednesday, 18 March 2015, in the Sendai International Centre, Sendai, Japan, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 68/211 of 20 December 2013. 

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Rule 65 Associate members of regional commissions

"Representatives designated by the associate members of regional commissions listed in the footnote may participate as observers, without the right to vote, in the deliberations of the Conference, the Main Committee and, as appropriate, any other committee or working group"

Eligible Associate members: American Samoa, Anguilla, Aruba, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Curaçao, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Guam, Martinique, Montserrat, New Caledonia, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos Islands and United States Virgin Islands.

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Also, the Preparatory Committee for the Conference will hold its third session on 13 March 2015 in Sendai. A note by the Secretariat containing information for participants has been issued as document A/CONF.224/INF/1.

List of speakers for the plenary meetings Inscription on the list of speakers for the plenary meetings of the Conference (item 8 of the provisional agenda (A/CONF.224/1), “General exchange of views”) is open.

All delegations wishing to inscribe are kindly requested to contact the Secretari at, in writing, by e-mail (Ms. Antonina Poliakova (poliakova@un.org) indicating the name and title of the speaker. For questions on the list of speakers, please call 1 (212) 963 - 5063.

The list of speakers for the general exchange of views will be established on a first-come first-served basis, with the customary protocol that ensures that Heads of States or Government speak first, followed by other heads of delegation. It is proposed that a time limit of five minutes be established for each statement.

All delegations prior to delivery of the statement are kindly requested to email a copy of their statement to wcdrr2015@un.org, indicating in the subject line, “Statement and Name of Country or Organization”. Where possible, statements should be provided one day in advance of delivery or at least 3 hours before delivery of statement.

In addition to the representatives of States participating in the Conference and the representative of the European Union, representatives of the following organizations may, time permitting and without setting a precedent, make a statement under agenda item 9 (Statements by inter-governmental and other organizations) and item 10 (Statements by non-governmental organizations) of the provisional agenda in accordance with the provisional rules of procedure of the Conference (A/CONF.224/3): (a) intergovernmental organizations and other entities that have received a standing invitation from the General Assembly to participate in the capacity of observer in the sessions and work of all international conferences convened under its auspices; (b) specialized agencies and related organizations; (c) other intergovernmental organizations; (d) interested United Nations organs; and (e) associate members of regional commissions.

The representatives of the non-governmental organizations and other major groups may also be added to the list of speakers. Representatives of these organizations and entities may contact the Secretariat (Ms. Maria Pamela Portillo (e-mail portillo@un.org; tel. 1 (212) 963-5139) to be inscribed in the list of speakers. Ministerial roundtables The topics of the five ministerial roundtable Ministerial roundtables

The topics of the five ministerial roundtables are “Governing Disaster Risk: Overcoming Challenges”; “International Cooperation in support of a Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction”; “Reducing Disaster Risk in Urban Settings”; “Reconstructing after Disasters: Build Back Better” and “Public Investment Strategies for Disaster Risk Reduction”. The roundtables will be interactive and multi-stakeholder in nature, with 45 seats each: up to 40 for Government delegations and at least 5 for other participants, including representatives of observers, entities of the United Nations system and other accredited intergovernmental organizations and major groups. Member States and other participants are encouraged to be represented at the roundtables at the highest possible level.

In a Note Verbale dated 28 November 2014, delegations were requested to submit three choices, in order of preference, together with the name, title and email address of the participating minister and delegate to the Secretariat (e-mail palm@un.org, with a copy to goldfinch@un.org).

Concept notes on the ministerial roundtables are available on the Conference website. High level multi-stakeholder partnership dialogues The topics of the three high-level multi-stakeholder partnership dialogues are “Mobilizing Women’s Leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction”, “Risk Sensitive Investment: Public-Private Partnerships”, and “Inclusive Disaster Risk Management: Governments, Communities and Groups Acting Together”.

The high-level multi-stakeholder partnership dialogues will be interactive and open to all conference participants. There will be no prepared list of speakers. At the discretion of the Chair or Chairs, priority in the order of speakers will be given to those speaking at the level of Head of State or Government or at the ministerial level, followed by high-level representatives of other stakeholders.

The dialogues will aim to achieve a balance among speakers from all stakeholders. In order to provide for maximum participation, interventions should not exceed three minutes. Representatives of States are invited to indicate to the Secretariat by e-mail (palm@un.org, with a copy to goldfinch@un.org) if they will be represented in a partnership dialogue at the level of Head of State or Government or at the ministerial level.

Concept notes on the high -level multi-stakeholder partnership dialogues are available on the Conference website. Credentials In accordance with rule 3 of the provisional rules of procedure of the Conference, the credentials of representatives and names of alternate representatives and advisers should be addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and delivered to the Office of Legal Affairs located on the 36th floor of the Secretariat Building (Attn. Ms. Tomoko Iwata, Room 3-3606; or Mr. Keiichiro Okimoto, Room S-3639). The credentials shall be issued either by the Head of State or Government or by the Minister of Foreign Affairs or, in the case of the European Union, by the President of the European Commission. 

Accreditation

Accreditation of official delegations of States, intergovernmental organizations and associate members of regional commissions, as well as specialized agencies and related organizations, is handled by the United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service via the online system “eAccreditation”.

Submission of online accreditation requests for members of the delegations via “eAccreditation” system must be handled by permanent/observer missions and offices in New York, who have already been registered and provided with secured login credential (password).

Delegations wishing to attend the conference are advised to coordinate with their missions/offices in New York for timely submission of accreditation requests. For detailed guideline on accreditation to the conference, please refer to the Protocol note verbale of 13 January 2015 (PRO/NV/WCDRR 2015/ARRANGEMENTS) posted on the protocol website www.un.int/protocol.

Additional information on the Conference is also available on the conference website (click here).