During the debate on the emergency item Speaker Sisulu expressed the sympathy and support of South Africa to the people and government of Pakistan in the face of the devastation their country faced. He acknowledged the leadership role played by the United Nations to ensure a comprehensive response to the disaster, but raised a concern around the slow pace with which the international community had responded to this natural disaster. It was pointed out that the emergency resolution adopted during the 122nd IPU Assembly in Bangkok, as a result of the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, had called upon governments to make disaster risk assessment an integral part of the planning for post disaster recovery and reconstruction. Sustainable development, poverty reduction, good governance and disaster risk reduction are mutually supportive objectives. It was for parliaments to advocate for intensified efforts to build the necessary capacity at community, regional and continental levels which would manage and reduce risks. Speaker Sisulu indicated that the main humanitarian challenges faced by the world were an increase in the number of catastrophic events, an increase in the numbers of people vulnerable to them, governments that failed or were unable to respond and an international humanitarian system that was unable to cope. He called upon those present to redouble their efforts to implement the Hyogo Framework for Action. This Framework was a comprehensive action oriented response to international concern about the growing impact of natural disasters.