OEA - AG - Resolución AG08391E03

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

FIFTY-FIRST REGULAR SESSION OEA/Ser.P November 10 to 12, 2021 AG/doc.5740/21 Guatemala City, Guatemala 5 November 2021

VIRTUAL Original: English Item 23 on the agenda

DRAFT RESOLUTION

STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES IN

ADVANCING DISASTER RESILIENCE IN THE HEMISPHERE

(Agreed upon by the Permanent Council at its virtual meeting of November 3, 2021, and referred to the plenary of the General Assembly for its consideration)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, RECOGNIZING: That the Western hemisphere is among the world’s most disaster-prone regions and that over 300 million of its citizens live in areas most vulnerable to disasters; That disasters pose a significant threat to integral human development, public health and safety, and critical infrastructure, affecting the wellbeing of current and future generations; and, The need for a broader and a more people-centred approach to disaster risk management, and that disaster risk reduction practices need to be multi-hazard and multisectoral, inclusive and accessible in order to be efficient and effective; NOTING WITH CONCERN that women, persons with disabilities, older persons, children and youth, and groups of people in conditions of vulnerability are often disproportionately affected by disasters, and stressing the need to ensure that their specific vulnerable situations/conditions are identified and addressed in preparedness for response and recovery; RECOGNIZING FURTHER The primary responsibility of each State for preventing and reducing disaster risk, and engaging in disaster management, including through the voluntary implementation of and follow-up to the Sendai Framework, as well as early response and recovery efforts, in order to minimize the impact of disasters and to build resilience, and the importance of international cooperation in support of the

efforts of affected countries which may have limited capacities in this regard; and,- 2The contribution of the priorities agreed to at the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, the first after the adoption of the Sendai Framework, held in the City of Cancun, Mexico, from May 22 to 26, 2017, to the coordinated action of the international community to reduce the risk of damage caused by disasters. RECALLING that the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES 69/283):  recognizes that disasters have “significant economic, social, health, cultural and environmental impact in the short, medium and long term, especially at the local and community levels;”  encompasses a broad range of hazard events to include “small-scale and large-scale, frequent and infrequent, sudden and slow-onset disasters caused by natural or manmade hazards, as well as related environmental, technological and biological hazards and risks; and,  recognizes the need for a multidimensional risk informed approach for preventing new, and reducing existing disaster risk through “integrated and inclusive economic, structural, legal, social, health, cultural, educational, environmental, technological, political and institutional measures that prevent and reduce hazard exposure and vulnerability to disasters, increase preparedness for response and recovery, and thus strengthen resilience”. REAFFIRMING the value of implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, to ensure the substantial reduction of disaster risk and loss of life, livelihoods and health, and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries, and recognizing that implementation of other instruments, such as the Paris Agreement, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, also contribute to reducing disaster risk and advancing disaster resilience; ACKNOWLEDGING that consistent with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025 – 2030, the Organization of American States’ has applied an approach to addressing disaster risk

Financing for Development, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, also contribute to reducing disaster risk and advancing disaster resilience; ACKNOWLEDGING that consistent with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025 – 2030, the Organization of American States’ has applied an approach to addressing disaster risk that includes “rapid-onset” and “slow-onset” disasters, as well as what the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) calls “intensive” and “extensive” disasters, adopted in the InterAmerican Program for Sustainable Development 2016-2021 (PIDS) by resolution AG/RES. 2882 (XLVI-O/16), in the Inter-American Plan for Disaster Prevention and Response and the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance by resolution AG/RES. 2750 (XLII-O/12)], and most recently, in AG/RES. 2952 (L-O/20), particularly in the context of the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic; ACKNOWLEDGING ALSO the priority recommendations of the Framework Strategy: From Vulnerability to Resilience, including with regard to disasters, the urgent need for rebuilding resiliently after hurricanes, as is also applicable to the recurring drought experienced in the hemisphere; WELCOMING the new regional and international strategic partners of the Inter-American Committee on Natural Disaster Reduction (IACNDR), and encouraging continued coordination in all efforts to assist OAS member states in emergency situations;- 3RECALLING FURTHER the commitments expressed in previous Resolutions and Declarations of the Permanent Council, and reiterated most recently in CP/RES. 1169 (2318/21) and CP/DEC. 73 (2307/20) with the compounded vulnerability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, to assist member states affected by disasters, through financing mobilized to a greater extent from resources provided through public-private partnerships, to urgently address the needs for multisectoral recovery and reconstruction, and for achieving resilience; TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION that the ultimate goal of all disaster management activities is to build resilience that make cities and communities inclusive, safe, and sustainable to disasters so that the vulnerabilities of member states to disasters are reduced, and to accelerate recovery

recovery and reconstruction, and for achieving resilience; TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION that the ultimate goal of all disaster management activities is to build resilience that make cities and communities inclusive, safe, and sustainable to disasters so that the vulnerabilities of member states to disasters are reduced, and to accelerate recovery for the victims of disasters; BEARING IN MIND the important role to be played by the OAS in complementing, facilitating, and integrating synergies and efforts with global and regional disaster management partners, with its regional instruments, institutions and initiatives for assisting member states in preparing for, responding to, recovering from, and reducing vulnerability to disasters; and, CONCERNED that the multisectoral impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic has been debilitating for OAS member states in their efforts towards achieving their sustainable development goals and enhancing their capacity for advancing multidimensional security in the hemisphere;

RESOLVES:

1. To reaffirm its commitment to the full implementation of all the recommendations of CIDI/CPD/doc.200/20 rev.3, on the tools and entities of the inter-American system to address disaster management, in particular, the execution of a Western Hemisphere database as soon as possible, for the benefit of all OAS Member States, and international and sub-regional disaster management strategic partners, and to task CIDI, in coordination with the Committee on Hemispheric Security (CHS) of the Permanent Council, with overseeing the implementation of those mandates entrusted to the General

Secretariat.

2. To invite OAS member states, permanent observers, and global and regional disaster management agencies to provide official data, including information on the sharing of knowledge, expertise, lessons learned and good practices available to member states through cooperation, for inclusion in the Western Hemisphere database, to be used in facilitating effective preparation, response, and recovery, and so, in advancing resilience in any country that may be experiencing a disaster.

3. To host a Hemispheric Encounter through the Permanent Council (PC) and InterAmerican Council on Integral Development (CIDI) on Disaster Resilience in the first quarter of 2022, with the virtual participation of the membership of the IACNDR, and sub-regional disaster prevention

3. To host a Hemispheric Encounter through the Permanent Council (PC) and InterAmerican Council on Integral Development (CIDI) on Disaster Resilience in the first quarter of 2022, with the virtual participation of the membership of the IACNDR, and sub-regional disaster prevention and response organizations such as, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency

(CDEMA), the Center for the Prevention of Natural Disasters in Central America (CEPREDENAC), the Andean Committee for Disaster Prevention and Relief (CAPRADE), the Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities for Integral Management of Disaster Risks of MERCOSUR (RMAGIR), similar agencies from the United Nations system, and other international organizations, to consider and offer recommendations for more inclusive, innovative and integrative measures to improve the effectiveness of the role of the OAS in multilateral cooperation on disaster risk-reduction, response, recovery, and reconstruction, in order to advance disaster resilience in the hemisphere.- 44. To promote multisectoral integration, cooperation and collaboration within the OAS and General Secretariat on all measures adopted for implementation under the four pillars of the OAS that advance disaster resilience in the hemisphere.

5. To request that the General Secretariat further strengthen its outreach to international and sub-regional disaster management strategic partners, particularly in the Inter-American Committee on Natural Disaster Reduction (IACNDR), to complement, facilitate and integrate the implementation of any new and existing measures to advance disaster resilience in the hemisphere.

6. To encourage Member States, in line with the call in the Sendai Framework, to promote disaster risk reduction, including prevention, mitigation and preparedness, to ensure rapid and effective response to and recovery from disasters, and to promote international cooperation to build resilience.

7. To call upon Member States to continue to adopt, where required, and to implement effectively, necessary legislative and other appropriate measures, to mitigate the effects of disasters, and to integrate disaster risk reduction strategies into development planning.

8. To request the Permanent Council to report to the fifty-second regular session of the General Assembly on the implementation of this resolution, which will be subject to the availability of financial resources in the program budget of the Organization, and other contributed resources.

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