20 October 2008: In a message to the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ seventh Pan African
Conference, taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 19-22 October
2008, Cheick Sidi Diarra, the Secretary-General’s High Representative for the
Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island
Developing States, on behalf of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, called for
strengthening the relationship between the UN and the International Federation.
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15 October 2008: The UN Fourth Committee (Special Political
and Decolonization) concluded its general debate on international cooperation
in the peaceful uses of outer space with a broad agreement on the value of
shared space technologies as a tool for sustainable development and disaster
management.
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15 October 2008: The newly released Gender in Agriculture
Sourcebook investigates the situation of women in the rural workforce and how
some of the challenges they face can be overcome. Developed in cooperation
between the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund
for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Bank, the sourcebook is
intended to be used both as a reference and as a tool book for agricultural
development. It also addresses cross-cutting issues, including gender
dimensions of climate change and bioenergy.
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14 October 2008: During the debate on international
cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space by the Fourth Committee (Special
Political and Decolonization) of the 63rd General Assembly, Ciro Arévalo Yepes,
Chairman of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, underscored the
role space technology could play in addressing climate change, food security
and health.
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October 2008: The UN International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (UN/ISDR) has released its proposal in response to the Bali Action
Plan’s call for enhanced action on adaptation through consideration of disaster
risk reduction strategies, risk management and risk transfer mechanisms.
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9 October 2008: European countries met from 9-10 October
2008, in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, to discuss practical ways to reduce the
impacts of natural hazards through strengthened collaboration among the World
Meteorological Organization's (WMO) National Meteorological and Hydrological
Services and disaster risk management institutions.
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9 October 2008: The UN University (UNU) is hosting the
International Conference on Environment, Forced Migration and Social
Vulnerability, which is taking place in Bonn, Germany, from 9-11 October 2008.
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), UN Environment Programme
(UNEP), and International Organization for Migration (IOM) are among the
Conference’s organizing partners. Participants have been asked to capture the
current state of research and debate on the issue, and to conclude with
recommendations for moving forward.
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7 October 2008: On the eve of International Day for Disaster
Reduction, during a news conference in New York, US, UN Under-Secretary-General
for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes
underlined the cost-effectiveness of reinforcing hospitals to make them safe
from disasters. He explained that the Day aims to raise awareness of the
inter-connection between disaster reduction and climate change prevention,
mitigation and preparedness.
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8 October 2008: On the occasion of the International Day for
Disaster Reduction, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted the greater
incidence of disasters in 2008 and called for increased action to “turn
commitments on paper into deeds” and implement the 2005 Hyogo Framework for
Action.
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8 October 2008: In a statement to mark the International Day
of Disaster Reduction, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja highlighted that action on climate change
mitigation and adaptation must consider managing risks to drought in a global
coordinated approach, and said the Hyogo Framework for action is a platform to
achieve these considerations.
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