Feminist advocacy on international agreements for disaster risk reduction: From Yokohama to Sendai

Abstract

For the past three decades, international norms about the responsibilities of governments with respect to disaster risk and resilience have been discussed and decided at world conferences led by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). Each of the three conferences resulted in a voluntary international agreement supported by member states, with the latest agreement adopted in Sendai showing more robust uptake of women's realities. One of nine civil society Major Groups within UNISDR, the Women's Major Group (WMG), constituted in part by a Japanese civil society-led delegation of women advocated for integration and key indicators monitoring the implementation of gender equality. This paper fills significant gaps in the international accounts of the Sendai Framework by tracking the specific policy demands of the WMG and member states in the lead up to the Sendai conference to reveal the areas of overlap and policy alignment among critical government and feminist civil society stakeholders. Albeit not a perfect document, we suggest that significant gains were won by the WMG in the language and approach taken in the new international agreement and in successfully creating a consensus on the importance of women's leadership in disaster risk reduction. The Sendai Framework for DRR is the first to name women as leaders and agents of change, rather than as essentialist victims.