Remarks at the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Meeting on Disaster Preparedness in Lao PDR

Ms. Sara Sekkenes

UN Resident Coordinator to Lao PDR

[Opening Remarks]

Co-Chair Mr. Kindavong Laungrath, Deputy Director-General of the Social Welfare Department, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare,

Distinguished representatives of the Government line ministries, and development partners,

Dear Cluster lead agencies and members, UN colleagues, Respected ladies and gentlemen,

• On behalf of the UN Humanitarian Country Team, I would like to thank you all for joining us this afternoon at the Inter-Agency Standing Committee meeting for 2023.

• It is my great pleasure to co-chair today’s meeting with Mr. Kindavong, Deputy Director General of the Social Welfare Department, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.

• After some delay the monsoon season is upon us, and we look forward to hearing the Seasonal Risk Forecast 2023 from the Department of Meteorology, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

• This will be followed by an update on the Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan, 2023 from the MoLSW, and an update on Inter-Agency Contingency Plan (IACP), 2023 from cluster lead agencies.

Ladies and gentlemen,

• We are all familiar with the unprecedented global climate-induced disasters, whose intensity and frequency are increasing every year causing humanitarian crisis. This year, Cyclone Biparjoy in India (13 June), Flooding in Ecuador (6 June), Flooding in Congo (8 May), Tropical Cyclone Mocha in Bangladesh and Myanmar (15 May), etc., affected thousands of people and damaged properties worth millions of dollars.

• We must do all we can to be prepared to respond to a crisis if it were to occur in Lao PDR. Such a disaster especially on top of the challenges that the country already faces can be catastrophic, we must work together to be able to provide timely and effective humanitarian assistance to those affected, and especially the most vulnerable, should the need arise.

• We recognise the lead role of the government in emergency response, and the IACP is designed to complement and support national efforts. Specifically, the IACP aims to support the Government in ensuring an effective, timely and coordinated response, through a clear response coordination mechanism and strategy, and clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

• The IACP has defined Standard Operating Procedures for large-scale as well as medium and small-scale disasters. Having SOPs in place before a disaster is critical so that response is immediate and coherent.

• We are grateful to the engagement of line ministries in the clusters and hope we can strengthen engagement across all the clusters to bring alignment with the national emergency response plan.

• On behalf of the IASC, I would like to thank everyone, cluster leads, co-lead agencies, cluster members from government, UN agencies and INGOs who have worked hard to bring this year’s IACP to this stage. I would also like to thank OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific for providing technical support to the RCO and the cluster leads throughout the process.

• The IACP is a living document and must be reviewed regularly to be up to date at all times. We hope that we can strengthen civil society engagement in the IACP as often it is the CSOs and the local governments that are the first responders when a disaster hits.

Ladies and gentlemen,

• I look forward to our continued excellent collaboration as we address these challenges in the coming years, and to a lively, interactive, and open discussion today.

• I would now like to give the floor to my co-chair, Mr. Kindavong Laungrath, Deputy Director-General of the Social Welfare Department, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare

Thank you.

[Closing Remarks]

Mr. Kindavong Laungrath, Deputy Director-General of the Social Welfare Department, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare,

Distinguished representatives of the Government and development partners, Dear UN colleagues, cluster leads, co-leads, and members

Ladies and gentlemen,

• On behalf of the UN Humanitarian Country Team, I would like to thank you for your meaningful participation and engagement at the IASC meeting today.

• I would like to thank the presenters from MoLSW, MoNRE and the cluster leads for providing us with a useful update on the seasonal risk forecast and our joint level of preparedness to cope with disasters.

• The IACP is intended to be a dynamic document, adaptable to changing local, and national contexts. The current IACP and its SOPs are in effect from today 29th June 2023, the date of its endorsement by the IASC. I would like to request cluster lead agencies and members to work on priority strategic and cluster preparedness actions. The plan will be reviewed regularly each year prior to the rainy season and revised according to lessons learnt in future emergency responses.

• With this, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our strong commitment to support the Government of Lao PDR on their continued tireless efforts to enhance preparedness and response capacity.

Thank you.