One ASEAN One Response: Faster and Collective Response to Disasters in and Outside the Region

13-Sep-2016

Source:  ASEAN Secretariat News

One ASEAN One Response: Faster and Collective Response to Disasters in and Outside the Region

VIENTIANE, 13 September 2016 –  The ASEAN Leaders signed the “ASEAN Declaration on One ASEAN One Response: ASEAN Responding to Disasters as One in the Region and Outside the Region” at the 28th ASEAN Summit in Vientiane. The declaration is based on the principle of harnessing the individual and collective strengths of different sectors and stakeholders in ASEAN to effectively respond to disasters inside and outside the region.

“The declaration is a major step for the ASEAN Community as it reaffirms ASEAN’s readiness to achieve faster and collective response to disasters,” said H.E. Le Luong Minh, Secretary-General of ASEAN during the signing ceremony of the declaration.

The declaration confirms that the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) is the main regional policy backbone and common platform for the implementation of One ASEAN, One Response, and that the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre) is the primary ASEAN regional coordinating agency on disaster management and emergency response. It also recognises the role of AHA Centre, at a later stage, to enable ASEAN to respond to disasters outside the region.

Vientiane has been the venue for the signing of two milestone documents in the area of disaster management: AADMER on 26 July 2005, just a few months after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami; and recently, the One ASEAN One Response Declaration by the ASEAN Leaders.

The signed copy of the Declaration is available Here.

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