This morning, the White Helmets Commission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of the Argentine Republic and the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) signed a Framework Agreement on Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and International Humanitarian Assistance.
The signing took place at the OAS headquarters in Washington D.C., at a meeting between the President of the White Helmets Commission, Ambassador Alejandro Daneri, and the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro. Last week, the OAS-White Helmets Fund was declared a "Humanitarian Fund" due to its status as a valuable mechanism in the hemisphere for disaster prevention, mitigation and response.
This agreement reaffirms the mutual commitment and importance of this alliance in the performance of humanitarian aid actions in the region. For that purpose, the White Helmets share with the OAS their volunteer work model in order to strengthen the mechanisms of the Inter-American System for Disaster Prevention and Response and the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance.
The OAS Secretary General stated that "the solidarity and volunteer work of the Argentine White Helmets is an example that we wish to mirror in the hemispheric initiative on Natural Disaster Risk Management and thus establish a new Disaster Prevention and Primary Response System in the Americas."
In turn, the President of the White Helmets Commission ratified his commitment to the OAS and called on Member States to support the initiative: "Argentina will soon make a contribution to the fund; we extend an invitation to other Member States to join the initiative in order to ensure a larger deployment."
The White Helmets and the OAS have worked together since 1995.
Press release No. 435/17
Press Office: 4819-7375 / 8296 / 7388
@CancilleriaARG
