Regional Consultation Workshop: MidTerm Review (MTR) of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SF) 2015-2030 for the Arab Region

Background
The Arab Region is considered one of the world's major climate change hotspots and highly vulnerable to the negative impacts of global warming. Depending on the extent of climatic disruption, the consequences of climate change are expected to worsen already critical situations present in the region, and function as a risk multiplier to disasters, human security, and political stabilization. The COVID-19 Pandemic has magnified issues affecting the region for decades including violence and conflict; inequalities; unemployment; poverty; inadequate social safety nets; human rights concerns; and insufficiently responsive institutions and governance systems.
The implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) is impacted to a large extent due to the increasing social vulnerabilities in the region as a result of climate change and the pandemic among other aspects. This, in turn, has increased the vulnerability of people to disaster and climate risk tremendously and hindered the aspired achievement of sustainable development by 2030; a vicious cycle that requires accelerating all-of-society concerted efforts in the remaining seven years of the lifespan of this global framework.
Half-way into the lifespan of the SFDRR, global stock-take exercises and midterm reviews are underway until 2023 in view of the setbacks witnessed mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years. Ensuring coherence between these processes at global, regional, national, and local levels is aspired with the involvement of all relevant national and local authorities and stakeholders, including the civil society, private sector, science and technology communities, and academia.
Accordingly, this consultation comes to facilitate stocktaking on progress, identifying changes in context, and developing recommendations for prioritized, accelerated, and integrated cooperation and action. This consultation will bring together the Arab states’ focal points, DRR stakeholders (civil society, private sector, science and technology communities, and academia), and UN agencies and international organizations. The results of this consultation will support the preparation of the preliminary regional report for the midterm review of the Sendai Framework in the Arab Region prepared by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Consultation Objectives:
The main aim is to conduct a regional systematic consultation for the Arab states between the national Sendai Focal Points and stakeholders involved in Disaster Risk Reduction on the midterm review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and put forward recommended measures to accelerate progress towards achieving them by 2030. This consultation will focus on the retrospective review of what has been accomplished 2015-2022 and the prospective review of 2023-2030. In general, the consultation will seek to gain new perspectives and insights through working group discussions and public discussions. Participants will be divided into groups that discuss the key questions listed under eight themes in the MTR concept note of the Sendai Framework.

Place and time of the regional consultative workshop:
The two-day workshop will be held on April 18 and 19, 2022 in Cairo. The venue of the workshop will be confirmed later.

Consultation language:
Arabic and English (Interpretation into both languages will be available)