Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Disaster Risk Management (DRM) are both essential to minimizing adverse effects from disasters. DRR is a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and reducing the risks of disaster, while DRM involves the application of these DRR policies and strategies in order to prevent new disaster risks, reduce existing disaster risks, and manage residual risks. As we discussed in class, it is imperative to implement inclusive DRR and DRM. Inclusive DRR and DRM take into consideration the needs of all inhabitants of an area when it comes to a disaster. It is especially important in times of disaster that those who are most vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, are being accounted for and that there is a plan to keep them safe.

The United Nations has held three World Conferences on Disaster Risk Reduction every. The most recent conference was held in Sendai, Japan in March 2015. At this conference, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was adopted. This framework outlines seven targets and four action priorities to prevent new disasters and reduce existing disaster risks, and “aims to achieve the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries over the next 15 years.” (Sendai Framework) This Framework is one of the most inclusive global frameworks on disaster risk reduction, and the conference itself is seen as a ‘gold standard’ for an accessible UN conference.

The Dhaka Conference on Disability and Disaster Risk Management was held from the 12^th to 14^th of December 2015 to identify concrete actions to take to launch the Sendai Framework and ensure that persons with disabilities are able to participate and contribute meaningfully in all its processes. At this conference, the Dhaka Declaration on Disability and Disaster Risk Management was adopted, which recognized that “disability is part of human diversity and person This diversity and varied requirements need to be considered in all aspects of Disaster Risk Management (DRM).” This declaration is such an important one because it acknowledges the need to consider persons with disabilities in disaster risk management and reduction processes. This is especially relevant and necessary as climate change continues to pose great disaster risks; and persons with disabilities are predicted to be disproportionately affected by it as they make up 20 percent of the population of the poorest people in the world (Dhaka Declaration).

Works Cited

Sendai Framework: http://www.unisdr.org/we/inform/publications/43291

Dhaka Declaration: http://www.cbm.org/article/downloads/131683/Dhaka_Declaration_on_Disability_and_Disaster_Risk_Management.pdf

Urbanization is occurring rapidly around the world, as 60 percent of the world’s population is estimated live in urban areas, according to the United Nations World Cities Report in 2016 (UN). Therefore, it is increasingly important that cities are inclusive of persons with disabilities, who make up an estimated 15 percent of the world’s population (Chan and Zoellick 2011). An inclusive city is an urban community with attitudes that value everyone. Inclusive cities consist of accessible infrastructure so that persons with disabilities can have full access to all the amenities and experiences of the cities that every other citizen does. It is so important that cities are inclusive because it is a fundamental human rights issue; persons with disabilities have the right to full and equal access and enjoyment.

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, also known as UN-Habitat, is the United Nations agency for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It is currently active in over 70 countries, with projects aimed at addressing issues related to housing problems and slum growth. The United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development happens every 20 years. Habitat III was the third, and it took place in Quito, Ecuador from October 17-20, 2016. The New Urban Agenda was the outcome document for the Habitat III, in which the Quito Declaration on Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements for All states in part:

“We share a vision of cities for all, referring to the equal use and enjoyment of cities and human settlements, seeking to promote inclusivity and ensure that all inhabitants, of present and future generations, without discrimination of any kind, are able to inhabit and produce just, safe, healthy, accessible, affordable, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements to foster prosperity and quality of life for all” (Habitat III).

I believe that the Quito Declaration in the New Urban Agenda reflects the shift in the international community towards inclusion of persons with disabilities, and is a huge and important step towards inclusive sustainable development. With rapid urbanization occurring, it is essential to ensure that cities are not only sustainable in order to protect the environment, but also inclusive so that all inhabitant can enjoy equal access and opportunities. While there is still much work to be done before all cities are inclusive, I think the New Urban Agenda is huge step in the right direction.

Works Cited

Chan, D. M., & Zoellick, M. R. B. (2011). World Report on Disability (p. 24).

Habitat III. (2016). Retrieved from http://habitat3.org/

2016. (2016). World Cities Report 2016. Retrieved from http://wcr.unhabitat.org/

Development is a contested concept, which has been conceptualized in many different ways throughout history in the international community. Sumner and Tribe argue that there are three discernable definitions of development: a process of change; short to medium-term outcome of desirable targets; and a “post-modernist” definition which views development as a social construct that does not not exist outside of discourse (Sumner and Tribe 2008).

Amartya Sen, in his book “Development as Freedom,” steered development away from a western approach and that the only way to think about development is economic growth or GDP- he argued that the economic component is not the only thing that matters. Sen defines “Development and Freedom” as the freedom to make decisions; countries with more freedom to make decisions are more developed (Sen 2000). Sen’s conceptualization is one that I gravitate towards the most, because there are so many different factors that play into freedom. Therefore, I believe that Sen’s conceptualization of development as freedom provides a better measurement of development than just looking at economic growth.

Amartya Sen argues that development can be seen as “a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy,” which is a different view from many who see development in economic terms, such as the growth of GNP. He mentions the removal of “major sources of unfreedom” (Sen 2000) that development requires, such as poverty and tyranny, which say more about the development of a country because a country can be economically developed but still have oppressive governments. Sen’s argues that freedom is not only one of the main ends of development, but also one of its principal means. Therefore, the freer people are, the more they can contribute to the development of a society, because they will live longer and more productive lives.

The United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report, which was established in 1990, was influenced in part by Sen’s work. This report discussed a new framework of development: the ‘Human Development’ or ‘Capabilities Approach’ (Sumner and Tribe 2008). Sen focuses on the capabilities approach, which considers the opportunities or freedoms people have to exercise the agency to live a life they see as meaningful. The capabilities approach to development is one that I believe is essential to the grand challenge of inclusion of persons with disabilities, because persons with disabilities must be afforded the means and opportunities to live their life just as a person without disabilities does.

Works Cited

Sen, Amartya (2000). Development as freedom.

Sumner and Tribe (2008). International Development Studies.

The United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) is the UN body responsible for monitoring the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs were adopted on September 25, 2015 as part of a new sustainable development agenda to “end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all,” which will run until 2030 (UN). The SDGs are much more inclusive than their predecessor, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which ran from 2000 until 2015. There was no mention of anyone with disabilities in any of the Millennium Development Goals, whereas in the Sustainable Development Goals, there are 11 specific references to persons with disabilities. I would argue that this is a reflection of the growing awareness in the international community that it is important to include persons with disabilities. I think the inclusivity of the SDGs is a positive step in the right direction towards achieving full inclusion of persons with disabilities.

As we discussed in class, the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development is the ‘most inclusive and participatory forum at the United Nations.’ This is largely due to the ‘Major Groups and Other Stakeholders High Level Political Forum Coordination Mechanism’ (MGoS HLPF Coordination Mechanism) which is responsible for ensuring “broad, open, transparent and inclusive participation in the HLPF” (UN MGoS). All representatives of the nine Major Groups and all other active stakeholders in sustainable development are eligible for membership in this mechanism. This major groups framework allows for the participation of groups of people that are especially vulnerable, as the nine major groups are: women, children and youth, indigenous peoples, NGOs, local authorities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, scientific and technological community, and farmers.

It is so important for the body in charge of monitoring the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals to be as inclusive and participatory as the HLPF is. This goes back to the idea of “nothing about us without us” that we have discussed since the first class; those who are being affected by an agenda should be able to have a say in it. The MGoS HLPF Coordination Mechanism ensures that all groups and stakeholders involved are included and able to participate in the monitoring process of the SDGs.

Works Cited

1. High-level Political Forum .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf

2017. Major Groups and Other Stakeholders High Level Political Forum Coordination Mechanism Terms of Reference. Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/12947HLPFMGoSCM-ToRJan2017.pdf

According to Lewis Branscomb, grand challenges are “technically complex societal problems that have stubbornly defied solution” (Branscomb 2015). Global “Grand Challenges” are such issues in international development for which international cooperation is necessary in order to reach a solution. Since 2010, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and its public and private partners have launched ten Grand Challenges around which their programs and resources would go to addressing. These Grand Challenges include: Saving Lives at Birth, All Children Reading, Powering Agriculture and Combating Zika and Future Threats (USAID).

Persons with disabilities have historically been left out of opportunities and conversations. According to the WHO/World Bank Report, more than one billion people in the world live with some form of disability. It is estimated that about 15 percent of every country’s population is persons with disabilities, it is long overdue that they are now finally being slowly included into the conversation. The UN High-Level Meeting on Disability and Development called on the international community to enhance cooperation to “seize every opportunity to include disability as a cross cutting issue in the global development agenda” (WHO). Progress is beginning to be made, as the Sustainable Development Goals, which will run from 2015-2030, have 11 specific references to persons with disabilities and are focused on development for all. This is an improvement from the Millennium Development Goals, which ran from 2000-2015, in which persons with disabilities were not mentioned once.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was adopted on December 13, 2006 as a human rights instrument to “promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.” The CRPD currently has 161 signatories, and has been ratified by 177 countries which have adopted national law to put it into place. The CRPD transfers disabilities from a medical model to a rights-based model, with the understanding that persons with disabilities should have equal access, and be included in issues that affect them (CRPD 2006). Inclusive Sustainable Development is itself a Grand Challenge that requires international cooperation, and the CRPD is one example of how states can commit to inclusion of persons with disabilities. In order to overcome this grand challenge of inclusive sustainable development, the international community must follow through with their commitments to inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Works Cited

Branscomb, L. (2015, May 15). A Focused Approach to Society’s Grand Challenges. Retrieved from https://issues.org/branscomb-4/

USAID. (n.d.). Grand Challenges for Development | U.S. Global Development Lab. Retrieved from https://www.usaid.gov/grandchallenges

WHO. (2016, February 27). UN High-level Meeting on Disability and Development. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/disabilities/hlm/en/

The Internet plays an incredibly important role in modern sustainable development, as it facilitates global communication and increases access to information. As we discussed with the “digital divide,” one of the challenges of the Internet in sustainable development is the lack of equal access to Internet services around the world. Another challenge of the Internet was the lack of a set norms and regulations when it was first created, as the Internet is a shared resource that is not technically owned or governed by any particular person or place. “Internet governance” was designed to help shape ethical norms, rules, and regulations of the Internet as it continues to develop (UNESCO). Internet governance advocates for a free and open Internet that can be inclusively accessed and a place that respects privacy, cultural diversity, and linguistic diversity (UNESCO). Internet governance is a positive resource that works to ensure the Internet is a resource that provides a positive and inclusive experience for all.

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was held by the United Nations in 2003 and 2005 to address the complexities of modern digital communication (UNESCO). WSIS resulted in the development of the annual multistakeholder Internet Governance Forum  (UNESCO). The forum is a space for “International agencies, governments, Internet professionals, business and civil society organizations” to discuss the relationship between the Internet and different areas of public policy (UNESCO). The multistakeholder approach is effective because it is a toolbox of strong and adaptable practices that are used all over the world, and the approach is accepted as an international norm (Internet Society). The principles that the multistakeholder framework relies on include, “open-ended unleashed innovation (infrastructure), decentralized government institutions (governance), and open and inclusive processes (human)” (Internet Society). The multistakeholder approach emphasizes that inclusivity is directly connected to framework’s success, because inclusive decision-making allows for increased accountability and sustainability (Internet Society).

NETMundial, held in Brazil in 2014, was an important multistakeholder conference that gathered various international actors involved in Internet governance (NETMundial). The conference organized its participants into various committees, focusing on “the elaboration of principles of Internet governance and the proposal for a roadmap for future development of this ecosystem” (NETMundial). NetMundial was the first forum of its kind, with participants representing a diversity of 97 different countries (NETMundial). While NETMundial was the beginning of developing these policies in a global situation, we will need to create more forums like it as the Internet continues to be an increasingly important part of inclusive sustainable development initiatives.

Resources:

https://en.unesco.org/themes/internet-governance

Resource Library

http://netmundial.br/about/