Strengthening Emergency Relief, Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, Recovery and Prevention in the Aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Disaster

 The present report has been prepared in response to General Assembly resolution 59/279, adopted by the States Members of the United Nations in January 2005 in the light of global concern over the impact of the earthquake and tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean region. The report identifies the lessons learned from the humanitarian response effort and highlights key issues that have come out of the ongoing recovery effort in the affected countries. In doing so, it examines successes and challenges specific to the earthquake-tsunami response and recovery effort, and addresses several themes universal to disaster response and recovery, such as national ownership and leadership, disaster response capacity, coordination in the relief and recovery phases, resource mobilization, civil society engagement and risk reduction. The report concludes with a set of observations and recommendations from the Secretary-General to the Economic and Social Council and to the General Assembly for further discussion.
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