The tremendous loss of life and destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean region on 26 December 2004 have shocked the world at large and shattered the lives of many individuals and communities. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to all those affected by this tragedy, especially those who have lost family and friends.
It will take time and resources to rebuild after this devastating experience. We extend our sincere gratitude and thanks to those who have contributed so generously and in so many ways to the relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. We also encourage the donor community – individuals, governments, and non-governmental organisations – to continue to support the ongoing relief and reconstruction needs.
The disaster is a reminder to all states, large and small, of their vulnerability and of the importance of building resilience to cope with natural disasters. Small island developing states are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters and this has a significant impact on their sustainable development.
The Mauritius International Meeting to Review Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States is the first major international gathering since the disaster struck. We welcome the commitments made by leaders in Mauritius in response to the Indian Ocean disaster.
The inter-governmental organisations, which we represent, have already contributed in a variety of ways to the relief and reconstruction efforts. We are committed to exploring other ways of contributing in a manner that is forward-looking and sustainable. Natural disasters have global impacts and require global responses.
In particular, given our strength in working across international borders, we have decided to examine ways in which we can collectively reduce the future impact of natural disasters by strengthening advance warning networks across international borders.
In some areas, there are already advance disaster warning networks in place. In other areas, new investment and fresh initiatives are required. Firstly, we intend to develop inventories of the advance warning resources and systems available in each of the Caribbean, Indian and Pacific Ocean regions. Secondly, we intend to identify aspects of these systems which need strengthening, including the human and institutional capacity and information systems that underpin effective disaster warning and response. The Commonwealth Secretariat will facilitate this work, which is intended to: share information; promote cost-effective and coordinated approaches to natural disaster warnings; and ensure that all parts of vulnerable island and coastal communities in these three regions are covered by adequate disaster warning and response systems. We look forward to considering concrete proposals at our next meeting in London in July 2005
Faced with this disaster of such unimaginable scale in the Indian Ocean region, we stand committed to mitigating the impact of future natural disasters, and to collective action which strengthens the disaster preparedness and response capacities of the Caribbean, Pacific, and Indian Ocean communities.
H. E. Mr Don McKinnon
Secretary-General of the Commonwealth
H. E. Mr Edwin Carrington
Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community
H.E. Mme Monique Andreas-Esoavelomandroso
Secretary-General of the Indian Ocean Commission
H. E. Mr Greg Urwin
Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum
CONTACT:
Huntley Medley
EMAIL: hmedley@caricom.org
