Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad, Ramtane Lamamra, stressed the need to develop a continental approach and a common African solution to deal with the repercussions of natural disasters on the countries and people of the continent.
In an address read on behalf of President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, at a meeting of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) held at the level of Heads of State and Government under the theme “Disaster Risk Management in Africa: Challenges and Prospects for Protecting Human Security,” Lamamra commended the praiseworthy initiative of President of the Republic of Mozambique and Chairperson of the PSC, Filipe Nyusi, who raised the crucial issue of “disaster risk management in Africa.”
“This issue deserves our full attention and requires collective work with a spirit of solidarity and mutual support,” he said.
“At a time when global attention is focused on the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19), climate change and disasters have increased in frequency and impact, with long-term repercussions on development, stability and human security,” he added.
“Unfortunately, this worrying situation has been felt more acutely in Africa than in the rest of the world. According to the concept note presented to us, Africa remains the weakest continent and the only one where disasters have intensified over the last twenty years.
In this regard, Lamamra recommended that the African group in charge of negotiations clarify this assessment in the framework of the COP26 scheduled in Glasgow to underline this undeniable reality, namely that Africa is the least responsible but remains the most exposed to climate change and disasters.”
He expressed “Algeria’s full solidarity with all African countries that are heavily affected or most threatened by these phenomena”, recalling the suffering endured by Algeria following the destructive effects of these disasters, notably earthquakes, floods and forest fires.
“Through our personal experiences, it is clear that the continental and response approach to risk management is appropriate and even indispensable,” he said.
In this regard, Lamamra said the Algerian delegation “fully supports the recommendations submitted to the commission for consideration, including those relating to the need to strengthen the early warning system.”
The Algerian head of diplomacy said that “much remains to be done to strengthen our collective capacity to provide aid and assistance in real time to any affected country.
In doing so, we must take into account the lessons learned from recent experiences which have shown that responses in emergency situations are generally fragmented or very late, or even totally absent.
He also called for the creation of a continental civilian disaster response force, which should build on our individual capacities to provide timely aid and assistance to affected countries.
“There is no alternative to joint action in the face of unlimited consequences, such as those resulting from disasters,” stressed Lamamra saying that “this issue is all the more important as countries that share the same geographical region also share the risks of natural disasters and catastrophes.
“We should continue to work together to face all the challenges that could prevent us from achieving the desired objectives,” he added.
The meeting was marked by the participation of the council’s member states, as well as representatives of the African Union (AU) Commission, the United Nations and the European Union (EU), the ministry concluded.
Source APS