OEA - CP - Resolución CP CSH 2373

PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE OEA/Ser.G

ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES CP/CSH-2373/26 5 February 2026

COMMITTEE ON HEMISPHERIC SECURITY Original: Spanish

CONCEPT NOTE

STRENGTHENING EMERGENCY AND SECURITY SYSTEMS

(Presented by the Information and Knowledge Section, Department of Public Security, Secretariat for Multidimensional Security, in preparation for the Committee’s meeting scheduled for February 12, 2026) This Concept Note is presented in compliance with the provisions of the Structure for the Consideration of Substantive Issues during Regular Meetings (2025-2026) , document

CP/CSH/INF.602/25.

Table of Contents THE IMPORTANCE OF SINGLE-NUMBER EMERGENCY SYSTEMS AND INTEGRATED RESPONSE SERVICES...............................................................................................2

ACTIONS UNDERTAKEN BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SECURITY...............................2

ACTIONS THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SECURITY COULD TAKE TO

STRENGTHEN THE CAPACITIES OF EMERGENCY AND SECURITY SYSTEMS

(subject to financial contributions) .........................................................................................................3 Training and human capacity-building...............................................................................................3 Standardization of services .................................................................................................................3 Information, data, and reporting systems............................................................................................3 Quality and performance evaluation...................................................................................................4 Knowledge production and regional analysis.....................................................................................4

GUIDING QUESTIONS FOR MEMBER STATE DELEGATIONS....................................................4

GUIDING QUESTIONS FOR OAS PERMANENT OBSERVER DELEGATIONS...........................5THE IMPORTANCE OF SINGLE-NUMBER EMERGENCY SYSTEMS AND INTEGRATED RESPONSE SERVICES Emergency systems that operate with a single contact number and integrated response services are an essential component in the state’s ability to protect the life, integrity, and property of the population and to respond to critical situations in a timely, efficient, and coordinated way. In emergency contexts, simple and clear access to support services is crucial. The existence of

a single emergency number that is widely known to the population reduces confusion, minimizes errors in accessing the system, and enables responses to be activated faster, especially in situations of high stress, imminent risk, or time constraints. In addition, systems with integrated response services—law enforcement, emergency medical services, firefighters, civil protection, and other relevant services—enable coordinated incident management, avoiding the duplication of efforts, shortcomings in attention, or fragmented responses. Integration supports efficient call routing, real-time information sharing, and decision-making based on a holistic view of the incident. From an operational perspective, integrated models help:  Optimize the use of public resources, by improving their allocation and ensuring interinstitutional coordination.  Reduce response times, by eliminating unnecessary intermediate steps.  Improve service quality, through common protocols, shared rules, and standardized processes.  Strengthen accountability and performance assessments, by centralizing operational information and data. From a strategic perspective, systems with single numbers and integrated services facilitate the formulation of evidence-based public policies by generating comparable and consistent data on emergency demand, incident types, and the state’s capacity for response. That is particularly important for planning, prevention, and identifying gaps and needs. Finally, the existence of accessible, integrated, and efficient emergency systems reinforces public trust in institutions and contributes to the people-centered security approach, in line with the principles of multidimensional security observed at the hemispheric level. In the Americas Region, various operational and management models for emergency systems exist alongside each other, reflecting different levels of institutional and technological maturity as well as different regulatory frameworks and operational capacities. In some countries, multiple emergency numbers without integration mechanisms still exist, which can lead to fragmented responses. In others, several emergency numbers coexist, including 911, with mechanisms for transferring or diverting calls to the appropriate services. There are also models with a single emergency number, but where the response depends on the subsequent referral of calls to non-integrated services. Finally, some states and jurisdictions have moved towards systems with a single emergency number and services with2varying levels of integration, which allow for more coordinated incident management from call reception to field response.

response depends on the subsequent referral of calls to non-integrated services. Finally, some states and jurisdictions have moved towards systems with a single emergency number and services with2varying levels of integration, which allow for more coordinated incident management from call reception to field response. The heterogeneity of the situation shows that the region is at different stages in the development and consolidation of its emergency systems. That fact underscores the importance of forums for exchanges, technical cooperation, and knowledge generation to enable the identification of good practices, lessons learned, and pathways for their progressive strengthening, while respecting national contexts and capacities. It also highlights the need to move progressively toward more integrated emergency systems in the region, by strengthening not only technological capacities, but also operational procedures, quality control mechanisms, staff training standards, and inter-institutional coordination mechanisms. Also important is the promotion of greater interconnectivity between the emergency systems of the region’s countries, so that anyone, regardless of where they are located, can access the emergency number in a clear and timely way, and to strengthen coordinated work between systems, particularly in cross-border contexts and between neighboring countries, in order to provide a more effective response to cross-border emergencies. ACTIONS UNDERTAKEN BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SECURITY In that context, the Department of Public Security (DPS) has been pursuing various initiatives to support the member states in consolidating more efficient, integrated, and resilient emergency systems. The report prepared by the DPS for this meeting of the CSH details the work carried out by the department in its capacity as the technical secretariat of the Subsidiary Technical Group on Emergency and Security Systems (GTS-SES). Additionally, the DPS is collaborating with NENA México to translate into Spanish, disseminate, and present key NENA standards. In 2025, the DPS translated three standards: 1. 911 Call Processing

2. Communications Center / Public Safety Answering Point Daily Personnel Operations 3. 911 Professional Education Work this year will focus on increasing emergency systems’ awareness of those standards and on making the standards available to them.

In 2020, the DPS launched the Virtual Community on Emergency and Security Systems on the

1. 911 Call Processing

2. Communications Center / Public Safety Answering Point Daily Personnel Operations 3. 911 Professional Education Work this year will focus on increasing emergency systems’ awareness of those standards and on making the standards available to them.

In 2020, the DPS launched the Virtual Community on Emergency and Security Systems on the Educational Portal of the Americas. That community is a virtual forum for information, resources, and exchanges of experiences and lessons learned on issues related to emergencies of all kinds and how to deal with them. The objective was to create a unified digital platform dedicated exclusively to the emergency sector, to serve as a repository and venue for consultation. In 2025, the portal transitioned to the Drupal 10 technology. The DPS is working on this new version to ensure that all the created content remains available.- 3Figure 1. Images of the Virtual Community on Emergency and Security Systems on the previous version of the Educational Portal of the Americas a. Home Page b. Alerts c. Library Recently, the DPS carried out an update of the focal points to provide an up-to-date list for GTS-SES activities in 2026. To date, nine of the 32 active OAS member states have designated focal points. Finally, as the technical secretariat of the GTS-SES, the DPS is supporting the Dominican Republic in organizing the working group’s second meeting. ACTIONS THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SECURITY COULD TAKE TO STRENGTHEN THE CAPACITIES OF EMERGENCY AND SECURITY SYSTEMS (subject to financial contributions) Building on the work already carried out in its role as the technical secretariat of the GTS-SES and on the initiatives under way, the Department of Public Security could promote the following actions for strengthening the technical, operational, and institutional capacities of the member states’ emergency and security systems: Training and human capacity-building  Development of training programs for emergency systems personnel, including operators, supervisors, and dispatchers. Standardization of services  Translation, presentation, and dissemination of key NENA standards, in coordination with NENA México and other strategic partners.  Organization of technical events and seminars to facilitate the understanding and practical

 Development of training programs for emergency systems personnel, including operators, supervisors, and dispatchers. Standardization of services  Translation, presentation, and dissemination of key NENA standards, in coordination with NENA México and other strategic partners.  Organization of technical events and seminars to facilitate the understanding and practical application of those standards by the region’s systems.  Production of support materials (short guides, data sheets, presentations) in Spanish. Information, data, and reporting systems  Development of a regional incident classification system, to facilitate comparability and analysis.- 4 -  Implementation of an incident reporting system, with monthly and annual reports and common criteria.  Development of data and incident visualization tools to support analysis and planning. Quality and performance evaluation  Definition and deployment of a common battery of quality indicators, in line with international standards and good practices.  Technical support to assist systems in assessing performance, identifying shortcomings, and pursuing continuous improvement.  Use of those indicators as an input for the planning and prioritization of actions. Knowledge production and regional analysis  Periodic administration of the OAS-NENA questionnaire and preparation of regional reports on the status of emergency systems.  Development of a matrix to comprehensively assess the maturity of emergency systems, in order to: o Determine systems’ level of development in key dimensions (technological, operational, institutional, regulatory, and training). o Identify strengths, gaps, and weaknesses. o Draw up action plans and road maps for progressive strengthening, adapted to national contexts.  Strengthening the Virtual Community on Emergency and Security Systems as a regional knowledge repository. GUIDING QUESTIONS FOR MEMBER STATE DELEGATIONS Challenges and needs  What are your country’s main emergency attention and response challenges?  What technological capacities do you think should be prioritized for shortand medium-term

strengthening?  What necessary protocols, standards, or procedures for emergency attention and dispatch do you think are lacking in your country? Regional cooperation  In what areas do you think regional cooperation could assist in strengthening your emergency system?  What kind of technical support or exchanges of experiences would be most useful for your country’s emergency system? Strategic priorities  What should be the strategic priorities for strengthening emergency systems in the region?  What issues do you think the GTS-SES should prioritize in its work plan?- 5GUIDING QUESTIONS FOR OAS PERMANENT OBSERVER DELEGATIONS Contributions and good practices  Given your country’s experience and capacities, in what areas could you contribute to strengthening emergency systems in the region?  What good practices, innovative approaches, or management models do you think could be of interest to OAS member states?  What role could you play in the production, translation, or dissemination of standards and technical tools adapted to the region’s contexts? Modernization and integration  What areas do you think offer the greatest opportunities to promote the technological modernization, interoperability, and integration of emergency systems? Training and development of human talent  What contributions could you make to strengthen staff training, skills development, and the professionalization of emergency systems? Technical assistance and financial support  What kind of technical assistance or financial support would you be in a position to explore or support?