A/HRC/27/66 (f) Integrating participation by all indigenous peoples into regional early warning systems.42 70. As an example, the indigenous people (Bethechilokono) of Saint Lucia are increasingly engaging with the National Emergency Management Organization as the country revises its National Emergency Management Plan. The Bethechilokono are advocating for the collection of disaggregated data on the community and its risks, and for the Plan to consider international obligations to respect the rights of indigenous peoples when designing and implementing rehabilitation programmes to mitigate the effects of natural disasters.43 To this end, they are advocating for the inclusion of representatives, selected by the community, in all local and national disaster risk reduction and emergency management committees and advisory bodies. In Australia, indigenous peoples contributed to the development of the National Emergency Management Strategy for Remote Indigenous Communities, which aims to improve the resilience of those communities.44 3. Participation by indigenous peoples in the development and implementation of early warning systems 71. The ultimate objective of an early warning system is to provide information so that individuals can make informed decisions and take action in order to avoid risk or, at a minimum, reduce the risk, to their lives, health and property. The process of effective warning against disasters includes: (a) identifying the risk or event (e.g. hurricane, volcanic eruption, wildfire); (b) identifying individuals vulnerable to that risk; and (c) communicating the warning to those individuals so that they understand it, are sufficiently impressed by it, and, as a result, take effective action to minimize their risk before and during the anticipated event. In the case of indigenous peoples, it is essential that early warning systems take into account their linguistic and cultural needs. In the overseas territories of France with indigenous peoples (French Guiana, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, and Mayotte), the dissemination of alert messages during extreme weather events is carried out in indigenous languages.45 Mexico reported on a programme whereby 120 public information messages were recorded and disseminated in the local indigenous languages of eight states with high disaster risk.46 72. The participation of indigenous peoples in the development and implementation of early warning systems is essential to their success. Participation by indigenous peoples can help to ensure that these systems are culturally and linguistically relevant and are well adapted to the specific risks and circumstances that they face. Furthermore, thanks to their traditional knowledge, indigenous peoples have a great deal to contribute to the development and implementation of early warning systems. In Uganda, for example, Karamojong communities participate actively in, and benefit from, an early warning system for droughts. The strategies for disseminating warnings and recommendations to the community include the use of radio messages and text messaging (SMS). A wider community awareness component also includes dramas and songs. Every month, drama groups raise the communities’ awareness of the importance of listening to the warning 42 43 44 45 46 Marilise Turnbull, Charlotte L. Sterrett and Amy Hilleboe, Toward Resilience: A Guide to Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation (Rugby, United Kingdom, Practical Action Publishing, 2013). Submission: ALDET Centre, Saint Lucia (2014). Submission: Australia. Submission: France. Submission: Mexico. 19