National Safety Day Commemoration

National Safety Day tribute to Nation's pride

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a message on National Safety Day celebrated on December 26, said the day is celebrated to educate and sensitize the public about disasters, disaster mitigation, prevention and early warning which will help them respond properly and strongly to disasters such as tsunami.

The President also said: "December 26, marks the worst ever catastrophe we faced as a nation and I view the declaration of this day as the National Safety Day a tribute to the pride of a great nation that stood as one in the face of disasters.

"Year 2009 is a very significant year for our country for number of reasons.

The biggest achievement for us is to have been able to eliminate brutal terrorism that jeopardized the lives of our people for nearly three decades. The second is our ability to establish an Early Warning Culture capable of facing natural disasters.

We can now boast of an efficient warning mechanism replete with state of the art technology with the assistance of international organizations and institutions dealing with disasters.

We have also taken steps to move towards sustainable development by intertwining development activities with disaster mitigation measures."

Message from Prime Minister

I am very pleased to note that the Disaster Management Center of Sri Lanka has been able to put in place a Disaster Early Warning and Disaster Preparedness Mechanisms on the guidance of the National Disaster Management Council chaired by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Disaster Management Center which operates under the leadership of Mahinda Samarasinghe, has taken steps to enhance the Disaster Early Warning Capacities in all 25 districts in the country.

The coordination among national level institutions, communities vulnerable to disasters, community based organizations, technical institutions, professionals, the three armed forces and police and media organizations sets an example for the entire world to follow with regard to Disaster Preparedness and mitigation.

I hope that fourth celebration of the National Safety Day to be held in Kurunegala will be a great success.

Message from Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister

I am pleased to convey this message on the fourth annual commemoration of the National Safety Day. The national commemorative event will be held this morning in Kurunegala under the patronage of Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka.

Prompted by the lessons learnt from the Asian tsunami of 2004, the Government introduced a comprehensive system of disaster management supported by a legal framework and institutional arrangements.

Under the system, the emphasis has been shifted from emergency response to prevention and mitigation of disaster risks.

To deal with disaster risks in a scientific and systematic manner, the Disaster Management and Human Rights Ministry formulated a ten-year Road Map for Disaster Risk Management (2005-2015) and drafted a National Disaster Management Policy as well as a National Disaster Management Plan.

The Ministry has put in place a network of multi-hazard warning towers in the coastal belt of the country and 50 such towers are operational.

A 24x7 emergency operation centre capable of coordinating any disaster emergency has been established with all required facilities. Disaster early warning systems have been improved with modern equipment and better linkages with international systems.

We have invested approximately Rs 300 million to mitigate the effects of floods, droughts and landslides and have established district level disaster management units decentralizing disaster management.

In the recent past, we have witnessed humanitarian crises around the world which have been caused by natural disasters.

These occurrences have raised new challenges which all persons involved in disaster management have been called upon to face.

It has become clear that humanitarian responses to disasters demand the integration of human rights dimensions to ensure the most effective interventions in aid of victims, before, during and in the aftermath of natural disasters.

Practitioners must be aware of human rights issues in order to reduce the vulnerability of affected populations and special groups and enable the seamless transition from response to recovery and development. This progression towards normality should also contribute to increased risk reduction and all of the above should take place within a rights-based framework.

Finally, let us use this event five years on from the catastrophic tsunami-not only to contemplate the devastation and tragic losses caused by disasters, but to also reaffirm our commitment to incorporate disaster risk reduction measures into our daily lives and into our homes, schools and communities. Let us together build the culture of resilience and safety in Sri Lanka.