Delegates in the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a consensus resolution last week, by which they addressed global geospatial information management. The document entitled “A global geodetic reference frame for sustainable development” (A/RES/69/266) urges States to voluntarily implement open sharing of geodetic data, standards and conventions, inviting them to improve national geodetic infrastructure and engage in multilateral cooperation that addressed infrastructure gaps and duplications, towards the development of a more sustainable geodetic reference frame.
On 23 December 2014, the United Nations General Assembly adopted its resolution A/RES/69/243 of the sixty-ninth session on "International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development". The resolution was published on 11 February 2015 and makes explicit mention of the UN-SPIDER programme twice.
The United Nations Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly (Special Political and Decolonization) met on 15 October 2014 for a panel discussion on international cooperation on the peaceful uses of outer space and to begin its annual debate on the agenda item.
From 6 to 8 August 2014 the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) met in New York. A draft resolution on the Global Geodetic Reference Frame (GGRF) was endorsed by the Committee and will now pass to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), with the intent of referring the Resolution to the General Assembly later this year.
The General Assembly confirmed that the 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction will take place in Sendai City, Japan from 14 to18 March 2015. The main topic on the Conference will be the renewal and further development of the Hyogo Framework for Action which was adopted in 2005 in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami disaster.
On 9 July 2013 the General Assembly established a new High-level Political Forum, which will replace the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, to boost efforts to tackle global economic, social and environmental challenges.
In a resolution adopted by consensus, the 193-member Assembly emphasized the need for an improved and more effective institutional framework for sustainable development, and decided that the Forum should provide “a dynamic platform for regular dialogue and for stocktaking and agenda-setting to advance that process.”
In a thematic debate on disaster risk reduction, the United Nations General Assembly emphasized the importance of disaster risk reduction. The Assembly's president, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, pointed out that disaster risk reduction must be incorporated in all development strategies, noting that the risk of losing wealth to natural disasters is outpacing wealth creation.
In its resolution 61/110 of 14 December 2006 the United Nations General Assembly agreed to establish the "United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response - UN-SPIDER" as a new United Nations programme, with the following mission statement: "Ensure that all countries and international and regional organizations have access to and develop the capacity to use all types of space-based information to support the full disaster management cycle".
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