Political strategies to prevent, prepare for and face the consequences of natural disasters
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 26 April 2023 (12th sitting) (see Doc. 15738 and addendum report of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and
Sustainable Development, rapporteur: Mr Simon Moutquin). Text adopted by the Assembly on
26 April 2023 (12th sitting).See also Recommendation 2251 (2023).
1. Our planet is suffering from the
negative effects of the climate crisis which, according to the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), is making some
“natural” disasters more frequent and their consequences more devastating.
These disasters pose a permanent and predictable threat, with serious
repercussions on the well-being of humanity and the global economy.
The worst affected are vulnerable groups such as women, who are,
according to the United Nations, 14 times more likely than men to die
as a result of such an event, but also children, the elderly and
all others in vulnerable situations.
2. Türkiye has just experienced the worst natural disaster in
the last 100 years in a Council of Europe member State. The Parliamentary
Assembly expresses its solidarity with the Turkish and Syrian peoples, severely
affected by an earthquake which struck their countries on 6 February
2023. It sends its condolences to both countries and to the relatives
of the likely 100 000 victims; according to official sources, there
are currently more than 57 000 victims. It affirms its support for
the millions of people affected, including the thousands injured
and the displaced Turks and Syrians. The terrible consequences of
this exceptional event will be felt for decades to come. This disaster
is a stark reminder to us of the indomitable power of nature, in the
face of which human beings have no choice but to try to prevent
and prepare for such events and deal with their consequences as
a matter of urgency, before preparing for reconstruction, by gathering
the whole population together and not leaving the affected populations
isolated and without assistance.
3. In circumstances of such magnitude and gravity, the Assembly
reiterates the importance of providing financial and technical support
to Türkiye and Syria. Assistance must not only address immediate,
medium- and longer-term needs but also, and above all, be based
on human rights. The Assembly welcomes the extraordinary efforts
by the member States and the European Union. It thanks the Council
of Europe Development Bank for the speed with which it has moved
to assist the Turkish authorities and for its support for earthquake-related
projects in the country.
4. Following the donors’ conference of 20 March 2023 and in anticipation
of the reconstruction process, which will have to address the needs
and the state of mental health of the earthquake-affected populations
in central Türkiye and Syria, the Assembly calls for a broad awareness
among stakeholders of major hazards and the handling of their consequences.
This disaster is a historic event. It must make us question how
we deal with prevention of, preparation for, consideration about
and reconstruction after an extreme event. We must provide a global
response to natural risks, so that no one is forgotten, while taking
into account the risks associated with the Anthropocene era. The
Assembly regrets the general lack of investment by member States in
Council of Europe instruments centred on nature, landscape and major
hazards, and the inexorable disengagement of States Parties.
5. International players specialising in extreme events having
emerged since the year 2000, the Assembly calls for better co-operation
between the United Nations, the European Union and the Council of
Europe to ensure greater complementarity when it comes to dealing
with natural disasters. It reminds Council of Europe member States
of the need to practise prevention by preparing national strategies
for extreme events, including those linked to the Anthropocene era.
These strategies should involve, in a democratic manner, not only national
but also regional and local authorities in order to respond as closely
as possible to the needs of the populations affected by disasters,
while at the same time drawing on multilateral and bilateral international
co-operation, in particular between neighbouring countries. Responding
to natural risks demands an enhanced right to access to information
and information, particularly for vulnerable people who also need
to be prepared. The Assembly stresses the role of decentralisation
policies in promoting these standards as far as the local level
of governance.
6. Drawing on the IPCC recommendations, the Assembly stresses
the need for member States to include in their regulations, as soon
as possible, measures to adapt to climate change and offset the
impact of the climate crisis, including with regard to extreme events.
There is no room for fatalism when it comes to natural disasters:
dealing with them is the responsibility of public authorities. These
authorities must anticipate the risks so that they do not become
threats to the human, social and economic rights of people living
in Europe and elsewhere. The Assembly hopes that the standards regarding
prevention, anticipation, response and monitoring in this area will
be shared more widely. It therefore calls for more robust checks
and prosecution measures where necessary to combat corruption in
the sectors related to (re)construction and the prevention of earthquakes
and extreme events in general.
7. The Assembly notes the ground-breaking role played by the
European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Agreement (EUR-OPA Major
Hazards Agreement) and underlines the usefulness of this Council
of Europe body in preparing standards. Its approach based on human
rights and democratic participation and its regional dimension,
taking into account the needs of all groups in society, are still
appropriate. The Assembly calls on member States to consider the
need for European standards to address not only exceptional natural events,
but also events arising from the Anthropocene era, including major
technological hazards and the impact of war.
8. The Assembly underlines that the private sector contributes
to ensuring resilience to natural disasters. In view of this, it
calls on member States to fully implement and operationalise in
their national legislation the concept of corporate due diligence
obligations, as formulated in the United Nations Guiding Principles
on Business and Human Rights and in Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)3
of the Committee of Ministers to member States on human rights and
business.
9. The Assembly welcomes the 2016 Draft articles on the protection
of persons in the event of disasters, prepared by the International
Law Commission and approved by the United Nations General Assembly.
It underlines the relevance of their content, including the duty
of States to co-operate with each other and with international organisations
and the duty to reduce the risk of disasters, conduct risk assessments,
collect and disseminate relevant information and set up and operate
early warning systems, as well as the duty of affected States to
ensure the provision of disaster relief and to seek external assistance.
The Assembly supports the framing of these principles as legal obligations
of States, as well as the United Nations General Assembly’s call for
the conclusion of a binding international treaty on this topic.
10. The Assembly calls on Türkiye to:
10.1 continue the necessary efforts to preserve the pre-disaster
social, economic and multicultural fabric during the reconstruction
phase;
10.2 continue to facilitate the intervention of international
humanitarian organisations operating on Syrian territory from Türkiye,
in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2672 (2023);
10.3 not renew the state of emergency at the end of the three
months declared, and favour a democratic approach to crisis management;
10.4 provide a forum for consultation between international
humanitarian organisations and national authorities in the event
of disasters;
10.5 set up a forum for consultation between national, local
and regional authorities in the 11 provinces to be rebuilt so as
to strengthen local democracy and organise reconstruction more effectively,
without any party-political bias;
10.6 reconsider its decision to withdraw from the Council of
Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women
and Domestic Violence (CETS No. 210, “Istanbul Convention”).
11. The Assembly calls on the other member States of the Council
of Europe to:
11.1 show their solidarity
with Türkiye and Syria by providing emergency, medium- and long-term technical
and financial assistance;
11.2 encourage visits by parliamentarians and representatives
of national, regional and local authorities to the 11 devastated
provinces in Türkiye to show solidarity with the residents, learn
from the Turkish experience, increase twinning schemes between municipalities
and strengthen cultural ties and exchanges between young Europeans.
12. The Assembly calls on all member States to:
12.1 co-ordinate their efforts at
the United Nations with a view to reopening the three border crossings between
Türkiye and Syria for the passage of humanitarian aid, as was the
case five years ago;
12.2 spread awareness of the need to prevent, anticipate, take
into account and monitor extreme events in order to ensure that
the most vulnerable people do not find themselves isolated and abandoned
at a time when major hazards are increasing because of the Anthropocene
era;
12.3 take account of the role of international humanitarian
organisations when preparing their national strategies for disaster
risk reduction, so as to facilitate the deployment of such organisations
at the site of a disaster;
12.4 step up co-operation between peers, whether professionals
or volunteers, at international level in order to make institutions
more resilient;
12.5 take into account the distribution of roles between levels
of governance in the fight against major hazards in order to build
the capacity of local authorities, which are in direct contact with
the population;
12.6 move away from a financial approach to disaster management
by allocating the necessary funds and combating corruption and bad
governance, which increase the vulnerability of those most at risk.
13. In the light of the shared values that bind all Council of
Europe member States and the European ambitions expressed by the
Turkish youth, the Assembly encourages the European Commission and
the Turkish authorities to resume negotiations on suspending the
visa requirement for Turkish nationals. In this context, it once
more invites the Turkish authorities to review their overly broad
interpretation of the anti-terror legislation.
14. In light of the 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government
of the Council of Europe and taking into account the increased risk
of extreme events in the context of the climate crisis, the Assembly
calls on member States to put the right to a safe, clean, healthy
and sustainable environment at the top of their agendas. It asks them
to reflect on the added value provided by the nature‑, landscape-
and major hazard-centred instruments set up by the Council of Europe,
which use the human rights-based regional approach to protect vulnerable people
and to strengthen the resilience of populations against all extreme
events and their short-, medium- and long-term consequences, including
migration. It calls on member States to build on the experience
gained and to ensure the sustainability of these instruments before
they disappear. It invites them to co-operate further on the creation
of continental standards based on human rights and democratic participation,
focusing on the regional dimension.
