The Andean Committee for Disaster Prevention and Assistance
(CAPRADE)

During the Ninth Meeting of the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers, held on July 7 in Lima, Peru, its members made the decision to establish the Andean Committee for Disaster Prevention and Assistance (CAPRADE). The following is its constituent document:

HAVING REVIEWED: Article 1 of the Cartagena Agreement; Article 6, items f) and i) of the Rules and Regulations of the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers; and, Article 37 of the Rules and Regulations of the Andean Community Commission;

WHEREAS: the Andean sub-region -a territorial area with similar physical and geographical conditions-, comprises high-risk natural features that, as a consequence, in many cases cause a number of disasters, and that earthquakes, floods, draughts, tsunamis and volcanic activities, among others, associated with climate changes and human activities, represent permanent hazards.

Due to the fact that there is an increasingly number of disasters which, in recent decades, have caused grave social and economic losses, Member States have been forced to strengthen their domestic capacities to reduce their vulnerability;

The Eleventh Andean Presidential Council met in Cartagena de Indias in 1999, and agreed to designate the bodies and institutions of the Andean Integration System, particularly the Andean Development Corporation, to take measures to secure the cooperation required to strengthen and establish standards and institutions aimed at preventing risks in each country and carrying out regional priority projects. As a result, the Andean Regional Program for Risk Prevention and Mitigation (PREANDINO) was created;

Civil Defense and planning institutions from Andean countries held meetings in Quito, Ecuador (February, 2000); Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia (August and November, 2001), and Bogotá, Colombia (January, 2002), through which they agreed to recommend the creation of an Andean Committee for Disaster Prevention and Assistance;

Member States adopted the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) in the context of the United Nations General Assembly, in the year 2000 (54/219);

It is necessary to establish an institutional mechanism for coordinating and organizing, in a systematic manner, both the cooperation and joint actions taken by all Member States to prevent and cope with the effects of natural or anthropogenic disasters;

DECIDES:

Article 1. To create the Andean Committee for Disaster Prevention and Assistance (CAPRADE), whose ultimate goal and competence will be to help reduce both the risk and the impact of natural and anthropogenic disasters that may occur in the Andean sub-region. This will be achieved by coordinating and promoting a number of policies, strategies and plans; advancing activities in the fields of disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, awareness, restoration and reconstruction; and fostering mutual cooperation and assistance, as well as promoting the exchange of experiences in the aforementioned areas.

Article 2. The main tasks of the Andean Committee for Disaster Prevention and Assistance (CAPRADE) are as follows:

1. Advise the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers and the General Secretariat, upon request or on its own initiative, on programs and activities of the Andean integration process related to the Committee’s goals, competence or functions;
2. Integrate and coordinate efforts devoted to incorporating the concepts of risk prevention and management into development planning;
3. Suggest the adoption of common policies and strategies on issues related to its own competence;
4. Promote both the compliance with and harmonization of international agreements on this subject among Member States;
5. Advance cooperation among Member States, aimed at solving problems in line with its goals and competence;
6. Advance research and the exchange of knowledge among Member States and with other regions, and include scientific and technological bodies in joint projects;
7. Promote and coordinate joint actions aimed at securing bilateral and multilateral cooperation;
8. Advance both the compliance with and harmonization of international agreements on natural disasters, in accordance with a number of existing multilateral and regional initiatives;
9. Promote capacity building among Member States, as well as the establishment of common mechanisms and systems, in order to follow-up and assess measures and outcomes, in line with its competence;
10. Promote broad-based and active participation of the population at large in disaster prevention, mitigation and assistance;
11. Inform, on a regular basis, the bodies of the Andean Integration System about its activities;
12. Undertake all other tasks entrusted to it by the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers and respond to requests submitted by the General Secretariat; and,
13. Coordinate its work with other bodies and networks aimed at preventing and managing disasters in the region.

Article 3. To comply with the provisions established by the preceding article, the Committee shall adopt its own Rules and Regulations, which shall also create all mechanisms required for appropriate organization and performance.

Article 4. The Andean Committee for Disaster Prevention and Assistance (CAPRADE) shall be constituted by all national competent authorities involved in this area, including representatives of Civil Defense, Ministries of Planning or similar institutions, and Ministries of Foreign Affairs. Officials from other institutions, however, may be incorporated depending on each country’s institutional features. In addition, delegations may include as many advisors as State parties agree upon.

Article 5. Activities carried out by CAPRADE shall be financed by funds obtained from international cooperation sources and from all respective countries committed to provide them for this specific purpose.

Article 6. The General Secretariat of the Andean Community shall function as the Secretariat of this Committee.

Signed in the city of Lima, Peru, on July 7th, 2002.

Source: Decision 529 about the creation of CAPRADE