Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Over the past two days, we have had very rich and extensive discussions about various aspects of recovery. We emphasized how inclusion empowers people in the process of recovery thereby, contributing to sustainable recovery and resilience building. The inclusion of the displaced and dispossessed, the participation of women, the elderly, and persons with disabilities, and also the removal of discrimination and barriers to access have emerged as our moral compass. The conference has provided us the occasion to look at these issues critically and to reiterate our commitment to work in a more inclusive manner.         

The poor and vulnerable should be seen as active participants and contributors to the recovery programme. When their skills and resource match with external assistance, it turns recovery into a collective and inclusive effort.   When recovery promotes inclusion and participation, it contributes to a much larger effort of empowerment, resilience and development.

We all need to take inclusion beyond symbolism in line with our pledge to “leave no one behind”. We all will work closely with national governments, development partners, NGOs, civil society and Private sector, to improve the outreach of recovery efforts, so that the benefits reach all the affected people.  

UNDP is committed to pursue this by:

First, investing in building capacities of community-based organizations and associations that work with marginal communities to participate in recovery assessment, planning and implementation;

Second, promoting and protecting the rights of vulnerable groups, providing opportunities to ensure that people are not left behind and excluded from recovery efforts;

Third, developing capacities and assist local and national governments to include vulnerable groups in the planning, implementation and monitoring of resilient recovery;

Fourth, closely monitoring the use of UNDP’s funds in recovery committed for people with disabilities (10%) and women (15%), and implementing UNDP’s guidance on Disability inclusive development;

Fifth, ensuring that we push the envelope for assessing the differentiated impact of disasters on people through the Human Impact Assessment in all PDNA; and improving these tools for social inclusion;

Sixth, ensuring that the benefits of building back better are equitably shared; and that inclusive approaches to recovery are promoting greater resilience for the community as a whole.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Once again, I would like to applaud everyone for the strong commitment to inclusive recovery, and the pertinent experiences that you have brought to this conference.  

I would express my thanks to the national and local governments for giving strategic direction and leadership to recovery process. I am also thankful to the civil society actors, the academia and the private sector for their contribution to this conference.

I would also like to express our thanks to UNDRR, UN agencies, the World Bank, and the European Union for their contribution and partnership.  
Finally, our thanks to the Government of Switzerland for being an outstanding host to the World Reconstruction Conference.  

I look forward to seeing a greater progress in our commitment for inclusive and resilient recovery over the coming years.

Thank you.