International Cooperation on Humanitarian Assistance in the Field of Natural Disasters From Relief to Development

A/RES/54/233View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 20 Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance, published in 2000.

What other versions does this mandate have?

27 versions · 2000–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/113

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/113	International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development	9,282	99%Compare
2024	A/RES/79/139	International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development	9,281	94%Compare
2023	A/RES/78/120	International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development	8,801	99%Compare
2022	A/RES/77/29	International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development	8,758	93%Compare
2021	A/RES/76/128	International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development	8,160	94%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

23 reports · 2002–2025

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2025	A/80/390	International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/79/139
2024	A/79/369	International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/78/120
2023	A/78/360	International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/77/29
2022	A/77/361	International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/76/128
2021	A/76/376	International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/75/124

What subjects does this mandate have?

8 subjects

Capacity Building Coordination Within UN System Disaster Preparedness Disaster Prevention Emergency Relief Funds Humanitarian Assistance Natural Disasters

What’s in this document?

20 operative paragraphs

Expresses deep concern at the increasing number and scale of natural disasters, resulting in massive losses of life and property worldwide, in particular in vulnerable societies lacking adequate capacity to mitigate effectively long-term negative social, economic and environmental consequences of natural disasters;

Stresses that humanitarian assistance for natural disasters should be provided in accordance with and with due respect for the guiding principles contained in the annex to resolution 46/182 and should be determined on the basis of the human dimension and needs arising out of the particular natural disaster;

Calls upon States to adopt, where required, and to continue to implement effectively necessary legislative and other appropriate measures to mitigate the effects of natural disasters, inter alia, by disaster prevention, including building regulations, as well as disaster preparedness and capacity-building in disaster response, and requests the international community in this context to continue to assist developing countries, where appropriate;

Stresses the need to strengthen efforts at all levels, inter alia, at the domestic level, to improve natural disaster awareness, prevention, preparedness and early warning systems, as well as international cooperation, in response to emergencies from relief to rehabilitation, reconstruction and development, bearing in mind the overall negative impact of natural disasters, the resulting humanitarian needs and requests from affected countries, as appropriate;

Encourages further efforts by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Inter-Agency Standing Committee members and other members of the United Nations system in promoting preparedness for response at the international, regional and national levels and strengthening the mobilization and coordination of humanitarian assistance of the United Nations system in the field of natural disasters, inter alia, through the effective deployment in all regions of the world and expansion of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination roster appropriately to include more representatives from countries of Africa, Asia and the Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean, bearing in mind that these representatives are funded by the participating countries;

Also encourages further efforts by the United Nations Development Programme to strengthen operational activities and capacity-building in natural disaster mitigation, prevention and preparedness, taking due account of the evolving comprehensive strategy to maximize international cooperation in the field of natural disasters;

Invites the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat and concerned organizations, taking due account of the evolving comprehensive strategy to maximize international cooperation in the field of natural disasters, to strengthen their support to the United Nations disaster management teams which are dispatched upon request by host Governments and steered by the United Nations resident coordinator;

Recalls the consideration of natural disasters contained in the report of the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space,⁴ held in Vienna from 19 to 30 July 1999, and encourages further use of space-based technologies for the prevention, mitigation and management of natural disasters, noting in this regard, the establishment of the Global Disaster Information Network;

⁴A/CONF.184/6.

Takes note of the Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations, adopted at Tampere, Finland, on 18 June 1998, and encourages States that have not signed the Convention to consider doing so;

Welcomes innovative efforts to link various phases of international assistance from relief to rehabilitation, such as the joint Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund and World Health Organization and Pan American Health Organization Disaster Response and Recovery Mission undertaken in all countries affected by hurricane Mitch, and stresses the need to ensure adequate assessment of and follow-up to these approaches with a view to further developing and applying them in other disasters;

Encourages Governments, in particular through their disaster response agencies, relevant organizations of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations, to continue to cooperate appropriately with the Secretary-General and the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator to maximize the effectiveness of the international response to natural disasters, based, inter alia, on humanitarian need, from relief to development;

Recalls, in this regard, its request to the Secretary-General to solicit the required input further to optimize and disseminate listings of organizations of civil protection and emergency response at all levels with updated inventories of available resources to help in natural disasters, as well as information, including handbooks, that guide the international cooperation in responding to natural disasters;

Stresses that particular international cooperation efforts should be undertaken to enhance and broaden further the utilization of national and local capacities and, where appropriate, regional and subregional capacities of developing countries for disaster preparedness and response, which may be made available in closer proximity to the site of a disaster, more efficiently and at lower cost;

Notes that the transition phase after natural disasters is often excessively long and characterized by a number of gaps, and that Governments, in cooperation with relief agencies, as appropriate, when planning for meeting immediate needs, should place these needs in the perspective of sustainable development whenever such an approach is possible;

Stresses the need to continue to provide adequate funds and to release funds quickly for natural disasters in order to contribute to a comprehensive recovery in the shortest time possible;

Also stresses, in this regard, that contributions for humanitarian assistance for natural disasters should be provided in a way that is not to the detriment of resources made available for international cooperation for development or complex humanitarian emergencies;

Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General, contained in resolution 54/95 of 8 December 1999, to submit to the General Assembly, early in 2000, concrete proposals in order to enhance the functioning and utilization of the Central Emergency Revolving Fund, and, in this regard, invites the Secretary-General to consider more active use of the Fund for timely and adequate natural disaster response;

Invites the Secretary-General further to consider innovative means for timely and adequate natural disaster response, inter alia, through mobilization of additional resources from the private sector;

Invites the Economic and Social Council, at its substantive session of 2000, in the context of the follow-up to its agreed conclusions 1999/1,1 to consider ways to enhance further the effectiveness of international cooperation and coordination in respect of the provision of timely and adequate humanitarian assistance in response to natural disasters;

Invites the Secretary-General to continue to consider innovative mechanisms to improve the international response to natural disasters and other emergencies, inter alia, through addressing any geographical and sectoral imbalances in such a response where they exist, as well as more effective use of national emergency response agencies, taking into account their comparative advantages and specialization, as well as existing arrangements, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session under the item entitled “Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance” with a view, inter alia, to contributing towards the comprehensive report on the implementation of the international strategy for disaster reduction to be submitted to the Assembly at its fifty-sixth session under the item entitled “Environment and sustainable development”.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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