Guest lecture in Reading by Special Representative of UN Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction

The School of Law, together with the interdisciplinary Walker Institute, were delighted to host a visit and guest lecture on 2 March 2017 by Robert Glasser, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and head of the UN Office on Disaster Risk Reduction. Mr Glasser discussed a wide range of topics concerning the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction, for which he serves as the global focal point in the UN system. He covered such diverse issues as the process of agreeing the technical indicators for measuring the Framework’s success, the key role to be played by both the private and public sectors, including HEIs in terms of embedding the key principles and objectives at the national, particularly community, level; and current challenges, ranging from the resistance of some states to accepting further binding obligations, to issues of corruption. It was particularly thrilling to hear Mr Glasser describe the School of Law as an international ‘trailblazer’ in relation to its postgraduate teaching (on the Global Crisis, Conflict and Disaster Management Programmes) and research on Disaster Risk Reduction law. In this regard, preparations for the forthcoming major symposium on the theme of ‘Disaster Risk Reduction and International Law’ – co-sponsored by the School of Law, Walker Institute, and American Society of International Law’s Disaster Law Interest Group – are well advanced, with an exciting and impressive range of keynote speakers as well as likely participants drawn from across the globe. For further details see walker.ac.uk/news-events/disaster-risk-reduction-and-international-law-symposium-2017

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