Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency

• Author: Duke Pollard
• Profession: Sitting senior judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the highest appellate municipal court of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
• Pages: 804-820

804 THE CARICOM SYSTEM

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THE CARIBBEAN DISASTER EMERGENCY

RESPONSE AGENCY

Given the concatenation of natural disasters bedevilling the Caribbean region since the

early twentieth century, it is somewhat surprising that the Caribbean Disaster Emergency

Response Agency had such a long gestation period. As early as 1902, Martinique and

St. Vincent had been devastated by volcanic eruptions followed by similar eruptions in

Montserrat in 1996. Earthquakes have also disrupted normal life in the Region from

time to time, including Jamaica (1902), Puerto Rico (1918), the Dominican Republic

(1946) and Antigua and Barbuda (1974). The Region is also noted for its fearsome

hurricanes which have become an annual event, devastating Barbados in 1955; Haiti,

Jamaica, Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago in 1964; Dominica and the Dominican Republic

in 1979; Saint Lucia, Haiti and Dominica in 1980; Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and

Nevis, and Montserrat in 1989 and Belize in 2001. Though the low lying Member

States of Guyana and Suriname on the shoulder of South America appear to be out of

the earthquake and volcanic zones and are not vulnerable to hurricanes, these countries,

nevertheless, suffer from the occasional disastrous floods. In short, the Member States

of the Caribbean pay a very heavy toll for their sheer physical beauty in a disproportionate

share of natural disasters, which impact negatively on their fragile economies in terms

of destruction of essential infrastructure and escalating insurance and reinsurance

premiums, thereby constituting a disincentive to capital investment.

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) was established

in 1991 following the termination of the Pan Caribbean Disaster Preparedness and

Prevention Project (PCDPPP). Membership of the organisation is open to Member

States of the Caribbean Community and any other Caribbean State. At present, CDERA

has 16 participating States. The objects of this organisation are to make an immediate

and coordinated response in an affected participating State by means of emergency

disaster relief; to secure, coordinate and channel to interested organisations reliable

and comprehensive information on disasters affecting participating States; to mobilise

and coordinate disaster relief from governmental and non-governmental organisations

for affected participating States; to mitigate or eliminate the immediate consequences

of disasters in participating States and to promote the establishment, enhancement and

maintenance on a sustainable basis of adequate emergency disaster response capabilities

among participating States.

The organs of the Agency consists of the Council, the Board of Directors and the

Coordinating Unit. The Council which consists of the Heads of Government of

participating States determines the policy of the Agency and the organisations with

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency 805

which the Agency may establish functional relationships. The Council also appoints

the Disaster Emergency Response Coordinator on the recommendation of the Board of

Directors, designates such national disaster relief organisations as it may deem expedient

as sub-regional Disaster Emergency Response Operational Units and approves the

budget of the Agency and contributions of participating States. The Board of Directors

consists of the heads of national disaster relief organisations of participating States and

is largely concerned with the mobilisation and deployment of resources and establishing

procedures for the efficient management thereof. The Coordinating Unit is headed by

the Coordinator and functions as the administrative headquarters of the Agency.

The constituent instrument of CDERA requires each participating State to establish

a National Disaster Organisation having overall responsibility for the national disaster

relief programme. The National Disaster Organisation also serves as the focal point for

CDERA’s activities with participating States. Each participating State also has a

National Disaster Coordinator responsible for the day to day management of the disaster

relief management programme. The Agency has juridical personality and enjoys in

participating States the privileges, immunities and exemptions required for its efficient

functioning and the achievement of its objectives.

AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING

THE CARIBBEAN DISASTER EMERGENCY

RESPONSE AGENCY

The States Parties:

Conscious that the fragile economies and ecosystems of Caribbean States are

extremely vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters;

Recalling that during recent decades many Caribbean States have been adversely

affected by a succession of hurricanes, namely Barbados (1955); Cuba, Trinidad and

Tobago, Jamaica and Haiti (1964); Dominica and the Dominican Republic (1979);

Saint Lucia, Haiti and Jamaica (1980) and Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis

and Montserrat (1989);

Recalling further the volcanic eruptions in Martinique and St. Vincent and the

Grenadines (1902); Guadeloupe (1976); St. Vincent and the Grenadines (1979) as well

as the earthquakes in Jamaica (1902); Puerto Rico (1918); the Dominican Republic

(1946) and Antigua and Barbuda (1974);

Mindful that, from time to time, several States of the Caribbean are subject to

disastrous floods and landslides;

Aware of the need to complement the initiatives of the Pan Caribbean Disaster

Preparedness and Prevention Project by establishing a mechanism among Caribbean

States in order to facilitate immediate and coordinated assistance to States participating

therein in the event of a disaster;

Have agreed as follows: