United Nations Children's Fund (Global Headquarters, New York)
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UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and strives to establish the rights of girls and boys as enduring principles, and international standards of behaviour towards children.
To meet the objectives of the HFA, UNICEF believes it is critical that DRR is fully integrated into development and that humanitarian action and recovery contribute to a reduction of disaster risk. UNICEF advocates that DRR not only addresses the risks faced by children and women but that children have a right to play an active role in DRR and climate change adaptation.
• Inter-Agency Group
• Inter-Agency Standing Committee
• The Sub-Working Group of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee on Early Warning and Contingency planning (UNICEF co-chairing with WFP)
• Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies
• ISDR System Thematic Platform on Knowledge and Education
• Children in a Changing Climate Coalition
• CADRI
National and local government, including Education, Health, Environment and Social Welfare Ministries, as well as national Disaster Management bodies. UNICEF also partners with national and international NGOs.
Mr. Michel Le Pechoux, Section Chief
([email protected], tel. +41 22 909 5111)
Mr. Antony Spalton, DRR Specialist
([email protected], tel. +41 22 909 5603)
UNICEF fully engages in national level development processes as well as in UN country planning (Common Country Assessment and the UN Development Assistance Framework -- CCA/UNDAF). It works to ensure DRR is mainstreamed into government development policies and that national platforms are established. UNICEF also advocates for a strong representation of civil society, especially children, in DRR for national and local levels.
UNICEF country programmes are based on assessments of priority disaster risks. UNICEF is supporting risk analysis, particularly building sub-national government capacity in risk assessment. UNICEF has developed its own organizational ‘early warning-early action’ system.
UNICEF works to ensure that all children realize their right to a quality basic education. It focuses on the most excluded and vulnerable children: girls, the disabled, ethnic minorities, the poor, those who are affected by war and conflict, and those affected by HIV and AIDS. UNICEF works with its partners to ensure that learning facilities are safe, that schools are prepared for disasters, and that disaster risk reduction is included in the school curriculum.
UNICEF addresses the underlying causes of vulnerability and risk through building community and system resilience.
This is undertaken through both development and humanitarian work, and through its regular programmes in support of national and sub-national development, especially in the basic social services of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; Health; Nutrition; Education; and Child Protection.
UNICEF protects the rights of children in its preparedness for emergency response, and in building the capacity of partner governments for national and sub-national preparedness. UNICEF has mainstreamed emergency preparedness and contingency planning throughout the organization. UNICEF also advances preparedness initiatives through its co-leadership of the IASC Sub-Working Group on Preparedness, its support of CADRI and its cluster leadership or co-leadership in WASH, Nutrition, Education, Child Protection and Gender Based Violence clusters and areas of interest.
The Sendai Framework Voluntary Commitments (SFVC) online platform allows stakeholders to inform the public about their work on DRR. The SFVC online platform is a useful toolto know who is doing what and where for the implementation of the Sendai Framework, which could foster potential collaboration among stakeholders. All stakeholders (private sector, civil society organizations, academia, media, local governments, etc.) working on DRR can submit their commitments and report on their progress and deliverables.