Novice United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

Committee Profile

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction is a branch of the UN that works tirelessly to mitigate the risk of existing disasters, to reduce the threat of new disaster risks, and to help nations strengthen and build frameworks to combat the negative consequences of natural disasters. Established in December of 1999, the UNDRR has a vision of a world in which disaster risks will no longer threaten the safety of humanity and the wellbeing/future of our planet. The UNDRR is heavily centered around the Sendai Framework, which specifies measures that directly approach the three main aspects of disaster risk: hazard characteristics, vulnerability and capacity, and exposure to hazards. At BruinMUN 32, the UNDRR will be addressing two specific points within the world of disaster risk reduction:

1. Disaster risk reduction in refugee and displacement camps 

2. Environmental effects related to ocean dumping 

Topic A will address disaster risks specifically within refugee and displacement camps. Both already already vulnerable populations and oversaturated areas, refugee and displacement camps are at exponentially more risk to reap detrimental effects of disaster. They often already lack essential supplies like food, water, first aid, and access to the internet, a condition only intensified and worsened by natural disasters when there is no established framework to aid in the mitigation of their risks. 

Topic B will address environmental effects related to ocean dumping, a practice in which there is a deliberate dumping of any form of waste into the ocean, whether that be from an aircraft, vessel, land platform, natural structure, or man-made sea structure. This hazardous method of discarding waste was banned by the Ocean Dumping Ban Act of 1988, but is still seen throughout the international community. Coastal cities and islands’ infrastructure, irrigation systems, and agriculture are constantly threatened, as is marine life, the fishing industry, and countless other practices that involve the use of global oceans. 

Chair Letter

Distinguished Delegates, 

Welcome to BruinMUN 32! My name is Sydney Lester and I am thrilled to be chairing the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) of this year’s session! I am currently a fourth year Sociology major with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies, but more importantly I am a proud cat mom, experienced hammocker, and avid nap enthusiast.

My model United Nations career has been a 8 year long journey. I fell in love with MUN as a young high school student and was delighted to find such a welcoming, committed MUN program here while in my first year at UCLA. I have met some of my closest friends and have created some of my most cherished memories while being a part of this club, and I cannot wait to share some of those moments with all of you! This will be my third year chairing a General Assembly committee at BruinMUN, and I have also been able to chair two GA committees at LAMUN, our college conference. In addition to my conference participation, this year I am serving as our club’s Director of Marketing on our executive board! Alongside my participation in MUN, I am a Bruin Ambassador working for UCLA Undergraduate Admissions, a writer for UCLA’s newspaper, The Daily Bruin, and a server at Founders Ale House, a restaurant in LA!

The United Nations for Disaster Risk Reduction is a body of the UN that specializes in the creation of a sustainable international framework that aims to strengthen the global capabilities of disaster risk reduction. Through multi-hazard disaster risk management and standards rooted in the Sendai Framework, the UNDRR works tirelessly to protect highly vulnerable groups most at risk of displacement and harm. Alongside of organizations such as the International Recovery Platform (IRF), Capacity for Disaster Reduction Initiative (CADRI), Risk-Informed Early Action Partnerships (REAP), and more, the UNDRR has structurally saved countless lives, and built protective infrastructure for communities most at need. 

At a glance these issues appear broad and hypothetical in regards to our personal daily lives, but in actuality they are significant threats to the functionality of the entire international community. Through your participation in this committee it is my sincere hope that you will not only gain a far greater understanding of the topics at hand, but that you will be encouraged to examine the world and global issues with a new perspective, one with far greater empathy and a drive to foster change. With that being said, I hope you have an amazing weekend, and welcome to the UNDRR.

Sydney Lester | Chair, UNDRR | BruinMUN 32

undrr@bruinmun.org