On December 7-11, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) hosted the fourth Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management under the theme of “Strengthening CDM through Youth and Community Empowerment.”
The annual Caribbean Conference is the disaster management platform for reflection and dialogue on initiatives and issues to advance the Comprehensive Disaster Management Agenda and measuring progress in the region within the context of the Enhanced Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy and Programming Framework 2007-2012.
One session of the conference was devoted to a discussion about how the IDRL Guidelines might be of use to governments in the region to strengthen their national laws.
The Caribbean Emergency Legislation Project was also the topic of one of the session of the conference. This project aims to build legislative capacity to enhance legal and institutional frameworks for state of emergency and budget appropriation in eleven CARICOM countries and the Dominican Republic, and to provide a set of recommendations for the implementation of clear and transparent procedures for natural disaster response in the Caribbean. The Department of Sustainable Development (DSD) of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS), with the support of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), is the executive agency of the Project.