[DRAFT] Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Framework

[Sodorstan]

Kindly provide feedback on my first ever draft for a GA proposal. I remember there was a similar thing proposed but cannot find it anymore in GA proposals.

Fourth Draft
I, hereby, put forth the fourth draft,

Acknowledging the inputs from Tinhampton regarding the potential illegal clauses and plagiarism,
Acknowledging the inputs from Northern Slatavia, Jiangbei and Merethin,

Also answering Tinhampton's points regarding the proposal giving action points instead of being a helpless body of text.

Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Framework

The World Assembly,

Understanding that natural disasters damage the social and economic infrastructure of all countries, although the long-term consequences of natural disasters are especially severe for developing countries and hamper their sustainable development,

Recognizingthat disaster reduction should be regarded as an important function of the World Assembly and should receive continued attention,

Recognizing clause (3a) of the General Assembly Resolution # 15 – Space Transport and Astronomical Research, regarding sharing of communication channels and contact procedures for civilian spacecraft operating in the same terrestrial orbit by member nations of this General Assembly in resolving emergency situations, that coordination and cooperation are essential tools in an emergency scenario and Natural Disasters are Emergencies,

Stressing the need for the international community to demonstrate the firm political determination required to utilize scientific and technical knowledge to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters and environmental hazards, taking into account the particular needs of developing countries,

Definitions

1. Capacity - the ability of a nation, organization, and community to reduce disaster risks
2. Disaster - a serious disruption of society due to hazardous events
3. Disaster Risk - the potential loss of assets and resources (including human) that could occur over a specific period of time in a society, or community, due to a particular hazardous event
4. Early Warning System - a system of hazard monitoring that enables governments, communities and others to take action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events
5. Hazard - a phenomenon, process, or activity that can seriously lead to loss of life, assets, and impact the functioning of society
6. Preparedness - the knowledge developed by governments, organizations, and others in a society to prepare themselves for a disaster in advance of hazardous events to effectively combat

Expresses deep concern at the increasing number and scale of natural disasters, which have resulted in massive losses of life and long-term negative social, economic and environmental consequences for vulnerable societies worldwide, in particular in new nations;

Hereby

Establishes , an international body, the World Assembly Office of Natural Disaster Risk Reduction (WAONDRR, henceforth), headed by a President, aided by a Vice-President, with representative offices present in all the member nations, in order to implement and develop further a comprehensive strategy to maximize international cooperation in the field of natural disasters,

Mandates that the offices of President and Vice-President shall rotate among member nations, according to a rotation schedule determined by the WAONDRR, with no single nation holding both the offices at any single point of time,

Mandates all member-nations to

• Submit a comprehensive list of all organizations that form the primary disaster response system to the WAONDRR representative office, for effective cooperation and coordination during times of disasters;
• Submit to the respective national office of the WAONDRR, a general plan for disaster reduction at the national level;
• Establish a technical team at the national level towards natural hazard monitoring;
• Establish a national-level educational institute for the purpose of strengthening scientific research and training of experts;
• Incorporate in the general educational curriculum the topic of disasters in order to raise a generation of aware people;
• Hold a public event annually towards developing general awareness;
• Contribute to the funding of the WAONDRR in an amount scaled to the nation's capacity, determined by both its economic output and its exposure to hazards, as assessed by the WAONDRR;

Authorizes the WAONDRR to:

• Review the national plans for disaster reduction of each member nation once every three years;
• Provide technical assistance, in a manner determined by the WAONDRR, to member nations whose national plans are found to be insufficient upon review;

Requires the WAONDRR to publish an annual public report on its activities, the contributions received and how they were used, and the state of national disaster reduction plans among member nations.

Third Draft
Thanks to Merethin & Tinhampton for the inputs. Here goes the second third draft.

EDIT: a small update - name change from NDRRF to FDRR to make it inclusive of all disasters.
EDIT - Reshuffled some parts and removed references to Secy General and Dy Secy General. Thanks to Northern Slatavia
EDIT - Removed the unnecessary "International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction".
EDIT - Dealt with the definitions.

Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Framework

The World Assembly,

Understanding that natural disasters damage the social and economic infrastructure of all countries, although the long-term consequences of natural disasters are especially severe for developing countries and hamper their sustainable development,

Emphasizing the multi-sectoral, interdisciplinary and cross-cutting nature of natural disaster reduction, and stressing that continued interaction, cooperation and partnerships among the institutions concerned are considered essential to achieve jointly agreed objectives and priorities,

Recognizing clause (3a) of the General Assembly Resolution # 15 – Space Transport and Astronomical Research, regarding sharing of communication channels and contact procedures for civilian spacecraft operating in the same terrestrial orbit by member nations of this General Assembly in resolving emergency situations, that coordination and cooperation are essential tools in an emergency scenario and Natural Disasters are Emergencies,

Recognizingthat disaster reduction should be regarded as an important function of the World Assembly and should receive continued attention,

Stressing the need for the international community to demonstrate the firm political determination required to utilize scientific and technical knowledge to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters and environmental hazards, taking into account the particular needs of developing countries,

Definitions

1. Capacity - the ability of a nation, organisation, and community to reduce disaster risks
2. Disaster - a serious disruption of society due to hazardous events
3. Disaster Risk - the potential loss of assets and resources (including human) that could occur over a specific period of time in a society, or community, due to a particular hazardous event
4. Early Warning System - a system of hazard monitoring that enables governments, communities and others to take action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events
5. Hazard - a phenomenon, process, or activity that can seriously lead to loss of life, assets, and impact the functioning of society
6. Preparedness - the knowledge developed by governments, organisations, and others in a society to prepare themselves for a disaster in advance of hazardous events to effectively combat

Expresses deep concern at the increasing number and scale of natural disasters, which have resulted in massive losses of life and long-term negative social, economic and environmental consequences for vulnerable societies worldwide, in particular in new nations;

Endorses swift establishment of future arrangements for disaster reduction as well as functional continuity for the effective implementation of the international strategy for disaster reduction;

Emphasizes the urgent need to develop further and make use of the existing scientific and technical knowledge to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters, bearing in mind the particular needs of developing countries, and, in this regard, calls upon all countries to strengthen scientific research and training of experts in universities and specialized institutions and to promote the exchange of information;

Recognizes the importance of early warning as an essential element in the culture of prevention, and encourages renewed efforts at all levels to contribute to natural hazard monitoring and impact prediction, the development and transfer of technology, capacity-building for disaster preparedness, the detection of natural hazards and the issuance and communication of early warnings, as well as education and professional training, public information and awareness-raising activities;

Reaffirms the need for strengthening an international framework for the improvement of early warning systems and disaster preparedness by developing an effective international mechanism for early warning as an integral part of future strategies and frameworks or any arrangements for natural disaster reduction;

Hereby establishes, an international body, the World Assembly Office of Disaster Risk Reduction, headed by a President, aided by a Vice-President, with representative offices present in all the member nations, in order to implement and develop further a comprehensive strategy to maximize international cooperation in the field of natural disasters, based upon an effective division of labour, from prevention to early warning, response, mitigation, rehabilitation and reconstruction, including through capacity-building at all levels, and the development and strengthening of global and regional approaches that take into account regional, sub-regional, national and local circumstances and needs, as well as the need to strengthen coordination of national emergency response agencies in natural disasters

and, furthermore,

Mandates

• the President of the WAODRR to solicit the required inputs from nations to optimize further and disseminate listings of organizations that provide civil protection and emergency response at all levels, with updated inventories of available resources, to help during natural disasters;
• the President of the WAODRR to optimize further and disseminate through all available channels, including handbooks, the information necessary to guide the international community at large in the effective management of international cooperation in the fields of disaster prevention, early warning, response, mitigation, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
• the WAODRR to establish a task force for disaster reduction, under the direct authority of the Vice-President of the WAODRR;

Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Framework

Definitions

1. Capacity - The combination of all the strengths, attributes and resources available within an organization, community or society to manage and reduce disaster risks and strengthen resilience.
2. Disaster - A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability and capacity, leading to one or more of the following: human, material, economic and environmental losses and impacts.
3. Disaster Risk - The potential loss of life, injury, or destroyed or damaged assets which could occur to a system, society or a community in a specific period of time, determined probabilistic-ally as a function of hazard, exposure, vulnerability and capacity.
4. Early Warning System - An integrated system of hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, disaster risk assessment, communication and preparedness activities systems and processes that enables individuals, communities, governments, businesses and others to take timely action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events.
5. Hazard - A process, phenomenon or human activity that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation. Hazards may be natural, anthropogenic or socionatural in origin. Natural hazards are predominantly associated with natural processes and phenomena. Anthropogenic hazards, or human-induced hazards, are induced entirely or predominantly by human activities and choices. This term does not include the occurrence or risk of armed conflicts and other situations of social instability or tension which are subject to international humanitarian law and national legislation. Several hazards are socionatural, in that they are associated with a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors, including environmental degradation and climate change.
6. Hazardous Event - The manifestation of a hazard in a particular place during a particular period of time.
7. Preparedness - The knowledge and capacities developed by governments, response and recovery organizations, communities and individuals to effectively anticipate, respond to and recover from the impacts of likely, imminent or current disasters.

The World Assembly,

Taking into account the massive flash-floods occurring around the World,

• Noting that such flash floods, avalanches and debris flow are increasingly becoming common around the world, with more prominence in the mountainous regions, owing to the human-mediated climate change,
• Acknowledging with concern the effects such floods have on socio-economic make-up of the nations, leading to food shortages and health crises, outbreak of water-borne diseases both in the place of occurrence of such floods, and further downstream,
• Acknowledging the need to enhance international and national efforts for a prompt disaster response,
• Reaffirming that disaster reduction forms an integral part of the sustainable development strategies and national development plans of vulnerable countries and communities,

Also taking into account the warming up of the world's oceans and the accompanying atmospheric oscillations that had acute impact in different parts of the world,

• Noting that such a global phenomenon has a recurring character and has produced disastrous effects, resulting in large material, economic, human and environmental losses, especially in the new nations,
• Acknowledging with concern the effects that such a global phenomenon has on global weather patterns, such as abnormal droughts and precipitation around the world, leading to food shortages and famine in several regions which could extend over a number of years and which may have potential impacts on world food supplies,
• Taking into account that such global phenomena have occurred fairly regularly and are often preceded by a number of distinct warning signs, which, with an appropriate increase in and exchange of data and information, could assist in the modelling and prediction of its recurrence and enhance the capabilities of affected countries to mitigate the negative social, economic and environmental impacts that the phenomenon causes,
• Considering that the national efforts of the countries affected have been insufficient owing to the magnitude of the natural disaster and that international cooperation and solidarity therefore become indispensable, in particular in the area of capacity-building,
• Reaffirming that disaster reduction forms an integral part of the sustainable development strategies and national development plans of vulnerable countries and communities,

Furthermore, the World Assembly, in general,

Understanding that natural disasters damage the social and economic infrastructure of all nations,

Emphasizing the multisectoral, interdisciplinary and cross-cutting nature of natural disaster reduction, and stressing that continued interaction, cooperation and partnerships among the institutions concerned are considered essential to achieve jointly agreed objectives and priorities,

Reiterating that natural disasters damage the social and economic infrastructure of all countries, although the long-term consequences of natural disasters are especially severe for developing countries and hamper their sustainable development,

Recognising clause (3a) of the General Assembly Resolution # 15 – Space Transport and Astronomical Research, regarding sharing of communication channels and contact procedures for civilian spacecraft operating in the same terrestrial orbit by member nations of this General Assembly in resolving emergency situations, that coordination and cooperation are essential tools in an emergency scenario and Natural Disasters are Emergencies,

Recognizingthat disaster reduction should be regarded as an important function of the World Assembly and should receive continued attention,

Stressing the need for the international community to demonstrate the firm political determination required to utilize scientific and technical knowledge to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters and environmental hazards, taking into account the particular needs of developing countries,

• Expresses deep concern at the increasing number and scale of natural disasters, which have resulted in massive losses of life and long-term negative social, economic and environmental consequences for vulnerable societies worldwide, in particular in new nations;
• Endorses swift establishment of future arrangements for disaster reduction as well as functional continuity for the effective implementation of the international strategy for disaster reduction;
• Mandates to establish a task force for disaster reduction, under the direct authority of the Deputy Secretary-General of the World Assembly;
• Decides to maintain the observance of the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction on the twenty-sixth December, in remembrance of the 2004 Tsunami in the Eastern Indian Ocean;
• Calls upon nations to continue to cooperate and coordinate their efforts with the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General to implement and to develop further a comprehensive strategy to maximize international cooperation in the field of natural disasters, based upon an effective division of labour, from prevention to early warning, response, mitigation, rehabilitation and reconstruction, including through capacity-building at all levels, and the development and strengthening of global and regional approaches that take into account regional, sub-regional, national and local circumstances and needs, as well as the need to strengthen coordination of national emergency response agencies in natural disasters;
• Emphasizes the urgent need to develop further and make use of the existing scientific and technical knowledge to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters, bearing in mind the particular needs of developing countries, and, in this regard, calls upon all countries to strengthen scientific research and training of experts in universities and specialized institutions and to promote the exchange of information;
• Recognizes the importance of early warning as an essential element in the culture of prevention, and encourages renewed efforts at all levels to contribute to natural hazard monitoring and impact prediction, the development and transfer of technology, capacity-building for disaster preparedness, the detection of natural hazards and the issuance and communication of early warnings, as well as education and professional training, public information and awareness-raising activities;
• Reaffirms the need for strengthening an international framework for the improvement of early warning systems and disaster preparedness by developing an effective international mechanism for early warning as an integral part of future strategies and frameworks or any arrangements for natural disaster reduction;

Hereby establishes, an international body World Assembly Office of Disaster Risk Reduction, headed by a President aided by a Vice-President, with representative offices present in all the member nations, and, furthermore,

• Mandates the President of the WAODRR to solicit the required inputs from nations to optimize further and disseminate listings of organizations that provide civil protection and emergency response at all levels, with updated inventories of available resources, to help during natural disasters;
• Mandates the President of the WAODRR to optimize further and disseminate through all available channels, including handbooks, the information necessary to guide the international community at large in the effective management of international cooperation in the fields of disaster prevention, early warning, response, mitigation, rehabilitation and reconstruction;

Natural Disaster Reduction Framework

The World Assembly,

Taking into account that the El Niño Southern Oscillation Phenomenon, commonly known as "El Niño", has had an acute impact in several regions of the world, with particular severity and frequency in the coastal countries of the Pacific Ocean,

• Noting that El Niño has a recurring character and has produced disastrous effects, resulting in large material, economic, human and environmental losses, with particular impact in the coastal countries of the Pacific Ocean, especially in new nations,
• Acknowledging with concern the effects that El Niño have on global weather patterns, such as abnormal droughts and precipitation around the world, leading to food shortages and famine in several regions which could extend over a number of years and which may have potential impacts on world food supplies,
• Taking into account that the major El Niño events of this century have occurred fairly regularly and are often preceded by a number of distinct warning signs, which, with an appropriate increase in and exchange of data and information, could assist in the modelling and prediction of its recurrence and enhance the capabilities of affected countries to mitigate the negative social, economic and environmental impacts that the phenomenon causes,
• Acknowledging the need to enhance international and national efforts for a better scientific understanding of the origins of the El Niño phenomenon
• Considering that the national efforts of the countries affected have been insufficient owing to the magnitude of the natural disaster and that international cooperation and solidarity therefore become indispensable, in particular in the area of capacity-building,
• Reaffirming that disaster reduction forms an integral part of the sustainable development strategies and national development plans of vulnerable countries and communities,

Also taking into account the massive flash-floods occurring around the World,

• Noting that such flash floods, avalanches and debris flow are increasingly becoming common around the world, with more prominence in the mountainous regions, owing to the human-mediated climate change,
• Acknowledging with concern the effects such floods have on socio-economic make-up of the nations, leading to food shortages and health crises, outbreak of water-borne diseases both in the place of occurrence of such floods, and further downstream,
• Acknowledging the need to enhance international and national efforts for a prompt disaster response,
• Reaffirming that disaster reduction forms an integral part of the sustainable development strategies and national development plans of vulnerable countries and communities,

Furthermore, the World Assembly, in general,

Understanding that natural disasters damage the social and economic infrastructure of all nations,

Emphasizing the multisectoral, interdisciplinary and cross-cutting nature of natural disaster reduction, and stressing that continued interaction, cooperation and partnerships among the institutions concerned are considered essential to achieve jointly agreed objectives and priorities,

Reiterating that natural disasters damage the social and economic infrastructure of all countries, although the long-term consequences of natural disasters are especially severe for developing countries and hamper their sustainable development,

Recognising clause (3a) of the General Assembly Resolution # 15 – Space Transport and Astronomical Research, regarding sharing of communication channels and contact procedures for civilian spacecraft operating in the same terrestrial orbit by member nations of this General Assembly in resolving emergency situations, that coordination and cooperation are essential tools in an emergency scenario and Natural Disasters are Emergencies,

Recognizing that disaster reduction should be regarded as an important function of the World Assembly and should receive continued attention,

Stressing the need for the international community to demonstrate the firm political determination required to utilize scientific and technical knowledge to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters and environmental hazards, taking into account the particular needs of developing countries,
1. Expresses deep concern at the increasing number and scale of natural disasters, which have resulted in massive losses of life and long-term negative social, economic and environmental consequences for vulnerable societies worldwide, in particular in new nations;
2. Endorses swift establishment of future arrangements for disaster reduction as well as functional continuity for the effective implementation of the international strategy for disaster reduction;
3. Mandates to establish a task force for disaster reduction, under the direct authority of the Deputy Secretary-General of the World Assembly;
4. Decides to maintain the observance of the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction on the twenty-sixth December, in remembrance of the 2004 Tsunami in the Eastern Indian Ocean;
5. Calls upon nations to continue to cooperate and coordinate their efforts with the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General to implement and to develop further a comprehensive strategy to maximise international cooperation in the field of natural disasters, based upon an effective division of labour, from prevention to early warning, response, mitigation, rehabilitation and reconstruction, including through capacity-building at all levels, and the development and strengthening of global and regional approaches that take into account regional, subregional, national and local circumstances and needs, as well as the need to strengthen coordination of national emergency response agencies in natural disasters;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to solicit the required inputs from nations to optimise further and disseminate listings of organisations that provide civil protection and emergency response at all levels, with updated inventories of available resources, to help during natural disasters;
7. Also requests the Secretary-General to optimize further and disseminate through all available channels, including handbooks, the information necessary to guide the international community at large in the effective management of international cooperation in the fields of disaster prevention, early warning, response, mitigation, rehabilitation and reconstruction;
8. Emphasizes the urgent need to develop further and make use of the existing scientific and technical knowledge to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters, bearing in mind the particular needs of developing countries, and, in this regard, calls upon all countries to strengthen scientific research and training of experts in universities and specialized institutions and to promote the exchange of information;
9. Recognizes the importance of early warning as an essential element in the culture of prevention, and encourages renewed efforts at all levels to contribute to natural hazard monitoring and impact prediction, the development and transfer of technology, capacity-building for disaster preparedness, the detection of natural hazards and the issuance and communication of early warnings, as well as education and professional training, public information and awareness-raising activities;
10. Reaffirms the need for strengthening an international framework for the improvement of early warning systems and disaster preparedness by developing an effective international mechanism for early warning as an integral part of future strategies and frameworks or any arrangements for natural disaster reduction;

[Florida-Georgia]

Overall, I think it's pretty good. But I'm only one vote. I think if we take this, we can be more prepared. Good Proposal

[Tinhampton]

Do not use AI to write your proposals, as while not illegal, this is frowned upon by the community.

Do not mention "the 2004 Tsunami in the Eastern Indian Ocean" in your proposal, as this was an event that happened in the real world and is therefore illegal. The same goes for "El Niño," which is a phenomenon that only happens on Earth.

Even if you were to create a human-written proposal that did not mention any real-world events, you cannot reduce natural disasters just by passing a resolution. You can encourage co-operation in relief efforts, ensure that member states have mitigations in place to reduce the negative impacts of disasters when they happen, or even establish an international disaster warning or monitoring system. (Articles 5-10 are a good start in these regards!) However, even if the World Assembly had all the environmental modification tools you can imagine at its disposal, it still cannot predict - never mind prevent - tectonic events like earthquakes and tsunamis, nor control whether wildfires start in wide-open spaces or in close proximity to built-up areas. It is not viable to indiscriminately reduce all natural disasters for the sole reason that, as the saying goes, "you cannot repeal nature."

Your proposal is almost 8,000 characters long. I am happy to work with you on something that is more realistic, more targeted, and more understanding of the circumstances that nations in the world of NationStates face (as opposed to nations on IRL Earth), even if I don't profess to call myself a subject matter expert. However, I cannot support this as written.

Natural Disaster Reduction Framework

The World Assembly,

Taking into account that the El Niño Southern Oscillation Phenomenon, commonly known as "El Niño", has had an acute impact in several regions of the world, with particular severity and frequency in the coastal countries of the Pacific Ocean,

• Noting that El Niño has a recurring character and has produced disastrous effects, resulting in large material, economic, human and environmental losses, with particular impact in the coastal countries of the Pacific Ocean, especially in new nations,
• Acknowledging with concern the effects that El Niño have on global weather patterns, such as abnormal droughts and precipitation around the world, leading to food shortages and famine in several regions which could extend over a number of years and which may have potential impacts on world food supplies,
• Taking into account that the major El Niño events of this century have occurred fairly regularly and are often preceded by a number of distinct warning signs, which, with an appropriate increase in and exchange of data and information, could assist in the modelling and prediction of its recurrence and enhance the capabilities of affected countries to mitigate the negative social, economic and environmental impacts that the phenomenon causes,
• Acknowledging the need to enhance international and national efforts for a better scientific understanding of the origins of the El Niño phenomenon
• Considering that the national efforts of the countries affected have been insufficient owing to the magnitude of the natural disaster and that international cooperation and solidarity therefore become indispensable, in particular in the area of capacity-building,
• Reaffirming that disaster reduction forms an integral part of the sustainable development strategies and national development plans of vulnerable countries and communities,

Also taking into account the massive flash-floods occurring around the World,

• Noting that such flash floods, avalanches and debris flow are increasingly becoming common around the world, with more prominence in the mountainous regions, owing to the human-mediated climate change,
• Acknowledging with concern the effects such floods have on socio-economic make-up of the nations, leading to food shortages and health crises, outbreak of water-borne diseases both in the place of occurrence of such floods, and further downstream,
• Acknowledging the need to enhance international and national efforts for a prompt disaster response,
• Reaffirming that disaster reduction forms an integral part of the sustainable development strategies and national development plans of vulnerable countries and communities,

Furthermore, the World Assembly, in general,

Understanding that natural disasters damage the social and economic infrastructure of all nations,

Emphasizing the multisectoral, interdisciplinary and cross-cutting nature of natural disaster reduction, and stressing that continued interaction, cooperation and partnerships among the institutions concerned are considered essential to achieve jointly agreed objectives and priorities,

Reiterating that natural disasters damage the social and economic infrastructure of all countries, although the long-term consequences of natural disasters are especially severe for developing countries and hamper their sustainable development,

Recognising clause (3a) of the General Assembly Resolution # 15 – Space Transport and Astronomical Research, regarding sharing of communication channels and contact procedures for civilian spacecraft operating in the same terrestrial orbit by member nations of this General Assembly in resolving emergency situations, that coordination and cooperation are essential tools in an emergency scenario and Natural Disasters are Emergencies,

Recognizing that disaster reduction should be regarded as an important function of the World Assembly and should receive continued attention,

Stressing the need for the international community to demonstrate the firm political determination required to utilize scientific and technical knowledge to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters and environmental hazards, taking into account the particular needs of developing countries,
1. Expresses deep concern at the increasing number and scale of natural disasters, which have resulted in massive losses of life and long-term negative social, economic and environmental consequences for vulnerable societies worldwide, in particular in new nations;
2. Endorses swift establishment of future arrangements for disaster reduction as well as functional continuity for the effective implementation of the international strategy for disaster reduction;
3. Mandates to establish a task force for disaster reduction, under the direct authority of the Deputy Secretary-General of the World Assembly;
4. Decides to maintain the observance of the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction on the twenty-sixth December, in remembrance of the 2004 Tsunami in the Eastern Indian Ocean;
5. Calls upon nations to continue to cooperate and coordinate their efforts with the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General to implement and to develop further a comprehensive strategy to maximise international cooperation in the field of natural disasters, based upon an effective division of labour, from prevention to early warning, response, mitigation, rehabilitation and reconstruction, including through capacity-building at all levels, and the development and strengthening of global and regional approaches that take into account regional, subregional, national and local circumstances and needs, as well as the need to strengthen coordination of national emergency response agencies in natural disasters;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to solicit the required inputs from nations to optimise further and disseminate listings of organisations that provide civil protection and emergency response at all levels, with updated inventories of available resources, to help during natural disasters;
7. Also requests the Secretary-General to optimize further and disseminate through all available channels, including handbooks, the information necessary to guide the international community at large in the effective management of international cooperation in the fields of disaster prevention, early warning, response, mitigation, rehabilitation and reconstruction;
8. Emphasizes the urgent need to develop further and make use of the existing scientific and technical knowledge to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters, bearing in mind the particular needs of developing countries, and, in this regard, calls upon all countries to strengthen scientific research and training of experts in universities and specialized institutions and to promote the exchange of information;
9. Recognizes the importance of early warning as an essential element in the culture of prevention, and encourages renewed efforts at all levels to contribute to natural hazard monitoring and impact prediction, the development and transfer of technology, capacity-building for disaster preparedness, the detection of natural hazards and the issuance and communication of early warnings, as well as education and professional training, public information and awareness-raising activities;
10. Reaffirms the need for strengthening an international framework for the improvement of early warning systems and disaster preparedness by developing an effective international mechanism for early warning as an integral part of future strategies and frameworks or any arrangements for natural disaster reduction;

[Merethin]

Another thing to add is that the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General are player positions, to which you are trying to assign in-character responsibilities. I'm not sure what the overall mod position is on this since the Secretariat is pretty new, but at least one proposal has been marked illegal for trying to do something similar (source). I would personally avoid it and would recommend you do the same.

[Sodorstan]

Do not use AI to write your proposals, as while not illegal, this is frowned upon by the community.

I have not. I am anti-GenAI myself.

Do not mention "the 2004 Tsunami in the Eastern Indian Ocean" in your proposal, as this was an event that happened in the real world and is therefore illegal. The same goes for "El Niño," which is a phenomenon that only happens on Earth.

Any idea on how to mention those events without referencing IRL events? I saw the rules and modified the flash-flood section which I originally typed mentioning Nepal and Tibet. I mentioned El Niño because it is what it is, and a very serious thing. I will drop that section in its entirety.

Even if you were to create a human-written proposal that did not mention any real-world events, you cannot reduce natural disasters just by passing a resolution. You can encourage co-operation in relief efforts, ensure that member states have mitigations in place to reduce the negative impacts of disasters when they happen, or even establish an international disaster warning or monitoring system. (Articles 5-10 are a good start in these regards!) However, even if the World Assembly had all the environmental modification tools you can imagine at its disposal, it still cannot predict - never mind prevent - tectonic events like earthquakes and tsunamis, nor control whether wildfires start in wide-open spaces or in close proximity to built-up areas. It is not viable to indiscriminately reduce all natural disasters for the sole reason that, as the saying goes, "you cannot repeal nature."

Understandable confusion. Humans cannot prevent events from happening.

See, there are two things, I should add these in the proposal as definitions, hazards and disasters. The former especially are the events - earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, COVID19, etc. The latter is the result of the former depending on how much of society is destroyed.

Illustration. An earthquake of same magnitude may not be a disaster in Japan, but will be in a densely populated London. Why? Japan is more prepared to the event than London. Here comes other terms - preparedness, mitigation, etc. I think I will add a glossary section in the proposal.

[Sodorstan]

Another thing to add is that the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General are player positions, to which you are trying to assign in-character responsibilities. I'm not sure what the overall mod position is on this since the Secretariat is pretty new, but at least one proposal has been marked illegal for trying to do something similar (source). I would personally avoid it and would recommend you do the same.

Thank you for the input, I will amend those and maybe include a non-player position, like, a World Assembly Office of Disaster Risk Reduction. That has a similar President and a Vice President.

[Merethin]

Any idea on how to mention those events without referencing IRL events? I saw the rules and modified the flash-flood section which I originally typed mentioning Nepal and Tibet. I mentioned El Niño because it is what it is, and a very serious thing. I will drop that section in its entirety.

Simply don't. When writing for the GA, you're writing for a fictional universe of fictional nations, not the real world. You can write about issues that affect the real world, and could also happen in a fictional universe like the WA multiverse, but you cannot write about specific real-world instances of those issues.

[Tinhampton]

Do not use AI to write your proposals, as while not illegal, this is frowned upon by the community.

I have not. I am anti-GenAI myself.

Do not mention "the 2004 Tsunami in the Eastern Indian Ocean" in your proposal, as this was an event that happened in the real world and is therefore illegal. The same goes for "El Niño," which is a phenomenon that only happens on Earth.

Any idea on how to mention those events without referencing IRL events? I saw the rules and modified the flash-flood section which I originally typed mentioning Nepal and Tibet. I mentioned El Niño because it is what it is, and a very serious thing. I will drop that section in its entirety.

I would agree with you on the issue of not mentioning such events at all. The different types of natural disaster are well-understood, even if only in outline, and would be even absent recent developments in the news.

Even if you were to create a human-written proposal that did not mention any real-world events, you cannot reduce natural disasters just by passing a resolution. You can encourage co-operation in relief efforts, ensure that member states have mitigations in place to reduce the negative impacts of disasters when they happen, or even establish an international disaster warning or monitoring system. (Articles 5-10 are a good start in these regards!) However, even if the World Assembly had all the environmental modification tools you can imagine at its disposal, it still cannot predict - never mind prevent - tectonic events like earthquakes and tsunamis, nor control whether wildfires start in wide-open spaces or in close proximity to built-up areas. It is not viable to indiscriminately reduce all natural disasters for the sole reason that, as the saying goes, "you cannot repeal nature."

Understandable confusion. Humans cannot prevent events from happening.

See, there are two things, I should add these in the proposal as definitions, hazards and disasters. The former especially are the events - earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, COVID19, etc. The latter is the result of the former depending on how much of society is destroyed.

Illustration. An earthquake of same magnitude may not be a disaster in Japan, but will be in a densely populated London. Why? Japan is more prepared to the event than London. Here comes other terms - preparedness, mitigation, etc. I think I will add a glossary section in the proposal.

"Disaster reduction" implies reducing how often disasters happen, when often these are not in the control of people (except for when the effects of anthropocenic global warming may increase their intensity and/or frequency), but are purely natural events. If by this you mean to focus your proposal on disaster preparedness - or even disaster risk reduction - then that would be a more realistic focus (and one that has indeed been the subject of resolutions both in the UN and the Legacy GA!).

With all that said, I look forward to reviewing your next draft!

[Sodorstan]

Simply don't. When writing for the GA, you're writing for a fictional universe of fictional nations, not the real world. You can write about issues that affect the real world, and could also happen in a fictional universe like the WA multiverse, but you cannot write about specific real-world instances of those issues.

But... earthquakes can happen in the NS-WA Multiverse and so can El Nino. Is there any general name for the ENSO phenomenon? Or should I just say global climate phenomenon that includes warming up of the waters and accompanying atmospheric oscillation that has spans years?

[Sodorstan]

"Disaster reduction" implies reducing how often disasters happen, when often these are not in the control of people (except for when the effects of anthropocenic global warming may increase their intensity and/or frequency), but are purely natural events. If by this you mean to focus your proposal on disaster preparedness - or even disaster risk reduction - then that would be a more realistic focus (and one that has indeed been the subject of resolutions both in the UN and the Legacy GA!).

Sorry for the confusion, from my part. I meant disaster risk reduction wherever I have used, incorrectly, disaster reduction (the title, I see, that was a slip-up). And, yes indeed I am talking of preparedness in this. And that's the reason I included the word Framework.

I will be down to edit the draft ASAP after some careful reading of your feedback.

[Tinhampton]

"Disaster reduction" implies reducing how often disasters happen, when often these are not in the control of people (except for when the effects of anthropocenic global warming may increase their intensity and/or frequency), but are purely natural events. If by this you mean to focus your proposal on disaster preparedness - or even disaster risk reduction - then that would be a more realistic focus (and one that has indeed been the subject of resolutions both in the UN and the Legacy GA!).

Sorry for the confusion, from my part. I meant disaster risk reduction wherever I have used, incorrectly, disaster reduction (the title, I see, that was a slip-up). And, yes indeed I am talking of preparedness in this. And that's the reason I included the word Framework.

I will be down to edit the draft ASAP after some careful reading of your feedback.

It is your choice as to how you wish to format the draft. However, by convention, the preamble comes first, then the definitions, and only then the active clauses.

Your draft is now running at an astonishing 10,169 characters or so - meaning that you now need to reduce its length by half. If you completely delete the sections about flash flooding and oceanic warming altogether, that would bring you to around 7,500 characters. (This would be a good idea even if we did not have rules against real-world references. There are many other types of natural disaster - such as earthquakes, wildfires, tsunamis, and hurricanes - which you do not discuss in any depth, never mind similar depth, in your preamble. Every character you use explaining the real-world context behind your resolution, directly in the text of your resolution, is a character you can't use to explain how member states should go about actually reducing disaster risk.)

Away from the character count, your proposal continues to talk about disaster reduction in many places in its actual text, something which I've already explained is more or less impossible for the WA to actually do, given their status as acts of God. You also haven't deleted the reference to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which means that your proposal is still illegal anyway.

[Sodorstan]

Away from the character count, your proposal continues to talk about disaster reduction in many places in its actual text, something which I've already explained is more or less impossible for the WA to actually do, given their status as acts of God.

Now that I removed the part referencing events, what else can I add or improve?

[Northern Slatavia]

Away from the character count, your proposal continues to talk about disaster reduction in many places in its actual text, something which I've already explained is more or less impossible for the WA to actually do, given their status as acts of God.

Now that I removed the part referencing events, what else can I add or improve?

I’d really remove all Secretary General references.

[Sodorstan]

I’d really remove all Secretary General references.

My proof-reading is not at par. Thanks. I have edited them out and made it a bit clearer, now.

[Northern Slatavia]

I’d really remove all Secretary General references.

My proof-reading is not at par. Thanks. I have edited them out and made it a bit clearer, now.

I don’t see the point of the Decides clause

[Sodorstan]

I don’t see the point of the Decides clause

Should I reframe it to something like this?

...
Decides to observe the twenty-sixth day of December as the International Day of Natural Disaster Risk Reduction.

[Northern Slatavia]

I don’t see the point of the Decides clause

Should I reframe it to something like this?

...
Decides to observe the twenty-sixth day of December as the International Day of Natural Disaster Risk Reduction.

No, I just don’t see why it’s necesarry at all. Not all nations use a calendar with December in it.

[Sodorstan]

No, I just don’t see why it’s necesarry at all. Not all nations use a calendar with December in it.

Hmm, interesting. How about three days before the end of the year? Or, on the fifty third day (randomly) of the year?

[Northern Slatavia]

No, I just don’t see why it’s necesarry at all. Not all nations use a calendar with December in it.

Hmm, interesting. How about three days before the end of the year? Or, on the fifty third day (randomly) of the year?

I feel as if you’re not understanding me. I just don’t think we need a WA resolution telong us we have a “International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction”.

[Sodorstan]

Hmm, interesting. How about three days before the end of the year? Or, on the fifty third day (randomly) of the year?

I feel as if you’re not understanding me. I just don’t think we need a WA resolution telong us we have a “International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction”.

understandable.

[Tinhampton]

I have also just noticed that all your definitions are plagiarised from the UNDRR. (Keyword searches of other parts of your resolution bring up no results and I continue to have my original suspicions about AI use.)

[Sodorstan]

I have also just noticed that all your definitions are plagiarised from the UNDRR.

I did use the UNDRR definitions because those are standard definitions and are pretty much forms the basic backbone of DRR. But, in defence, if I define anything it is bound to be already defined by some International Body already. For example, a kilogram (defined by the SI).

How can I define something that is already defined by some body without getting the plagiarising stick?

[Jiangbei]

I have also just noticed that all your definitions are plagiarised from the UNDRR.

I did use the UNDRR definitions because those are standard definitions and are pretty much forms the basic backbone of DRR. But, in defence, if I define anything it is bound to be already defined by some International Body already. For example, a kilogram (defined by the SI).

How can I define something that is already defined by some body without getting the plagiarising stick?

By not copying their exact wording.

First of all, some your definitions are extremely long, like:

Hazard - A process, phenomenon or human activity that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation. Hazards may be natural, anthropogenic or socionatural in origin. Natural hazards are predominantly associated with natural processes and phenomena. Anthropogenic hazards, or human-induced hazards, are induced entirely or predominantly by human activities and choices. This term does not include the occurrence or risk of armed conflicts and other situations of social instability or tension which are subject to international humanitarian law and national legislation. Several hazards are socionatural, in that they are associated with a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors, including environmental degradation and climate change.

You have no reason to define natural vs anthropogenic vs socionatural if you aren't going to use them in your resolution

[Sodorstan]

By not copying their exact wording.

okay, I will edit it accordingly

[Sodorstan]

Keyword searches of other parts of your resolution bring up no results

What do you mean by that? Do you want to know where I took these from?