10 - Participants: Multilateral Organizations and International Financial Institutions

Abstract

A multilateral organization is an organization composed of the central governments of sovereign nations. Member states come together under a charter of rules and responsibilities they have drawn up and agreed upon. Through their efforts to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters, multilateral organizations have a major role in international disaster management. All nations are at risk of disasters and, likewise, all nations face the prospect of one day finding themselves requiring help from one or more of these organizations. Multilateral organizations direct the collective experience and tools of their member states to benefit all nations in need of assistance—even the wealthiest ones. The progress witnessed by the international disaster management community in recent years can be directly traced to the work of these multilateral organizations, especially focused initiatives such as the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. This chapter discusses the various forms of multilateral organizations involved in international disaster management. The United Nations and its individual offices, agencies, and organizations working in mitigation, preparedness, response, or recovery are also described, followed by a description of other multilateral organizations, including NATO, the European Union, the Organization of American States, and the Southern African Development Community, among others. Finally, the international financial institutions that fund much of the world's development, as well as recovery from disasters of all kinds, are addressed.