On 27 March 2026 during its XXXIX Ordinary Assembly in Panama City, Panama, the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (PARLATINO) unanimously adopted a declaration in support of the negotiation of the treaty on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters (PPED). By doing so, PARLATINO became the first regional interparliamentary organization to endorse a declaration supporting the treaty on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters.
The regional director of the IFRC for the Americas, Loyce Pace, addressed the Assembly before the vote and emphasized the benefits and necessity of the treaty. “We have accompanied this process with the certainty that this treaty represents a historic opportunity to transform the way we protect people.”
She drew on the treaty’s purpose, asserting that "the protection of people in disaster situations does not depend on chance, but on clear commitments, robust standards, and coordinated actions." Given the disaster-prone nature of the region, her audience was well acquainted with the destruction that can ensue from gaps in disaster preparedness and response mechanisms. “Disasters result from the interaction between physical events and human management, aggravated by the vulnerability and lack of preparedness of communities, as well as development models and, in general, unsustainable environmental practices,” Pace said.
"Today you will not only approve a declaration,” Pace remarked. “You will open a door. The door so that this process toward a treaty for the protection of people in disaster situations does not remain at the international level, but is incorporated into domestic law, into public policies, and into people's real lives."
The declaration not only expresses support for the treaty process and its adoption in Manila in January 2027, it declares a firm commitment to strengthening governance for disaster risk reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean. It furthermore promotes the development of modern legislative frameworks that integrate risk management across all its stages and across all sectors, foster prevention including anticipatory action, strengthen adaptation to climate change, and reduce the structural vulnerability of societies. The declaration also calls for increased collaboration with IFRC, amongst other partners.
This outcome follows sustained humanitarian diplomacy and engagements between IFRC and PARLATINO, as well as engagements with legal advisers from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, Chile, and Cuba who convened in a first regional roundtable to discuss the upcoming treaty in late November 2025 and in a second round table for the Caribbean from 25-26 March, 2026.
Photo credit: Ours Abroad
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- 721 News (Caribbean): https://www.721news.com/2026/03/the-xxxix-ordinary-assembly-of-the-parlatino-concludes-with-legislative-consensuses-for-the-region/
- Ours Abroad: https://pan.news.o-abroad.com/Panama/politics/339312-en-parlatino-first-parliament-to-back-disaster-protection-treaty.html
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