Madam Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries Montenegro, Serbia*, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, the potential candidate countries Bosnia and Herzegovina* and Georgia, and the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

At the outset, let me thank the co-facilitators, Pornrawe Neung Poenateetai of Thailand and Duarte Valente of Portugal, the Secretariat and other delegations for their cooperative and constructive work on this resolution.

The EU welcomes the adoption of this resolution. This resolution is becoming increasingly relevant with each passing year as the number and scale of disasters and their devastating impact have resulted in massive loss of life and long-term negative economic, social and environmental consequences, especially for vulnerable societies throughout the world, and which hamper the achievement of their sustainable development.

We are pleased that the resolution recognizes that disaster risk is increasingly complex and systemic and that hazards can trigger one another with cascading impacts across sectors and geographies, as well as at the local, national, regional and global levels.

We also welcome that this year’s resolution underlines the need for multidimensional and comprehensive risk assessment and the promotion of coherence between humanitarian and development assistance, which can contribute to strengthening resilience and climate change adaptation, for a more targeted and effective approach to prevention and resilience-building.

We are equally pleased that the resolution recognizes the importance of integrating a disaster risk reduction perspective aimed at improving food security and nutrition.

We deem that especially this year, this resolution is of critical importance in view of the Mid-Term Review of the Sendai Framework. We hope that all positive developments in this resolution - ranging from multidimensional and comprehensive risk assessments and anticipatory action to nature-based solutions and early warning systems - will be reflected in the political declaration as the outcome of the High-Level Meeting in May next year.

Thank you.

* Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process