Official statement of the General Secretary of the Andean Community

The Member Countries of the Andean Community, together with the General Secretariat of the Andean Community, have ratified their commitment to continue working to address the increase in disaster risk situations in the subregion. This entails reducing the level of exposure and vulnerability of the population and their livelihoods, as well as contributing to national and subregional efforts to ensure sustainable development with resilience, and with an inclusive approach.

Thus, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, through the Andean Strategy for Disaster Risk Management and its Implementation Plan 2030, have prioritized areas of joint working, which cover not only national policies and plans for disaster risk management, but the commitments they have undertaken in the global context, as in the “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 –2030”.

With the adoption of the Andean Strategy for Disaster Risk Management and its Implementation Plan 2030, both under the principles and objectives of the Sendai Framework, joint actions have focused on helping to reduce the risk and vulnerability of the Andean subregion, as well as on strengthening the technical capacities of national institutions.

I must emphasize that the definition of the activities prioritized in the Implementation Plan was conducted through a subregional negotiation process where the countries, based on the national work agendas and their respective progress, agreed to execute common actions. Since its adoption in 2019, the plan has fulfilled more than fifty percent of the scheduled actions.

The General Secretariat of the Andean Community recognizes the importance of the role of international cooperation in achieving common objectives and goals. Along these lines, we must express special gratitude to our strategic partners for accompanying us on the path that the subregion has set out, and that allows us to continue identifying actions that strengthen us.

I am pleased to highlight the constant accompaniment of the United Nations Regional Office for Disaster Risk Reduction -The Americas in the process of preparing the Implementation Plan and its activities.

I also want to thank the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with whose support the project “Strengthening capacities for disaster risk management in the Member Countries of the Andean Community of Nations” was executed, and through which different activities and tools aimed to increase the risk and governance knowledge are being implemented, with views to mitigate and reduce the risk of experiencing adverse events.

This is how, within the framework of its implementation, the Member Countries of the Andean Community of Nations have been working together on activities to strengthen public investment processes and financial protection mechanisms in Disaster Risk Management (DRM), as well as on planning post-disaster recovery, areas considered relevant when making decisions to reduce losses and facilitate the efforts of states to ensure their social and economic development.

In the same way, with the support of the NGO Humanity & Inclusion, and in the process of implementing and revitalizing the “Methodological guidelines for disaster risk management with an inclusive approach of the Member Countries of the Andean Community of Nations”, spaces have been coordinated where countries share their experiences regarding their national processes to ensure the incorporation of the inclusive approach within their national DRM policies and plans.

Furthermore, member countries of the Andean Community of Nations co-organize and participate in joint working spaces where, through the exchange of knowledge and experiences, they seek to contribute to strengthening the national capacities of the institutions involved in DRM, with views to achieve the homogeneous development of the Andean subregion in risk management.

In this context, activities have been carried out to strengthen communication capacities, in order to promote a greater involvement of the population in disaster risk management, since it is an issue of society as a whole. In line with the aforementioned efforts, I would like to highlight that, in December 2020, the Andean Environmental Charter was approved, which arises to face together the effects of climate change and protect our biodiversity, and has among its focal points, the prevention and response to disasters.

It should be mentioned, in turn, that all the actions linked to DRM are possible thanks to the commitment and professionalism of the governing institutions for disaster risk management in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, which, with their knowledge and experience, are the main agents in the process of achieving common goals and objectives.

Finally, I emphasize the importance of continuing to participate in spaces such as the one that brings us together today, where the approach with the different actors involved in disaster risk management facilitates the promotion of joint working and complementing efforts.

Ladies and gentlemen, in our hands we have the power to generate changes that will lead us to a safer global society committed to the observance of the rights and duties inherent in every person, since we are all part of a collective that goes beyond nationalities.

Thank you very much.