Bangladesh has assumed the Chairmanship of the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD) last year from Germany. As part of Chair’s responsibility, Bangladesh is going to host the Annual Thematic Meeting of the PDD in Dhaka on 24-25 February 2019. The Thematic Meeting will be inaugurated by the Hon’ble Foreign Minister of Bangladesh.

PDD is a state-led consultative process which was launched during the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016 as an outcome of the Swiss and Norwegian led the then Nansen initiative. The Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda was endorsed by 109 government delegations during a Global Consultation in Geneva in October 2015. It is working towards better protection for people displaced in the context of disasters as well as owing to the impact of climate change. The Platform has put its efforts in building partnerships among policymakers, practitioners and researchers as well as in constituting a multi-stakeholder forum for dialogue and implementation of the policy and programme at the regional level to protect people displaced by disaster. The Platform is focused on implementing the recommendations of the ‘Protection Agenda’, a toolbox to better prepare for displacement and respond to situations when people are forced to find refuge within their own country or across the borders.

Under the leadership of the member states, the multi-stakeholder PDD is built on three pillars: a Steering Group, an Advisory Committee, and a Coordination Unit. Following the assumption of the Chairmanship, Bangladesh has been active in infusing dynamism to the platform.

The theme of this year’s Annual Thematic Meeting of the PDD in Dhaka is “Working together to address displacement due to slow and sudden onset disasters”. Thematic sessions of the Thematic Meeting re expected to focus on the challenges and reduction of the loss and damage likely to emanate from both slow onset and sudden onset natural disasters; the mechanism of forging enhanced cooperation among the governments and private stakeholders for burden sharing. During the Thematic Meeting, pertinent issues such as preparedness for sustainable livelihood of the people; lessons from the past experience of natural disasters; and better management of disasters in the future would be discussed. In addition, deliberations on disaster displacement and future of PDD, disaster displacement would also take place during the PDD annual thematic meeting. 

Related Documents:

Registration Form

Administrative Note Note PDD_Draft

Draft Programme_PDD

Draft Concept Note