Lima, August 21, 2009.- At the special meeting of the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers, on Wednesday, in Lima, the Foreign Ministers of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru approved four Community Decisions aimed at strengthening political, social and environmental cooperation in the Andean subregion. 

Through Decision 710, they approved the creation of the Andean Community Council of Public Prosecutors, which will make recommendations on fighting organized crime to the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers and to the General Secretariat. 

That Council will meet at least once a year and, through it, an increase in the possibilities for cooperation among the Public Prosecutors of the Andean countries will be sought through a sharing of experiences and the boosting of cooperation efforts.  

The Foreign Ministers approved the creation of the Andean Council of Authorities on Women’s Affairs through Decision 711.  Made up of representatives with Ministerial, State Secretariat or equivalent rank in governmental organizations, this Council will make it possible to take a regional approach to action for promoting equal opportunities between men and women and for eliminating violence against women.  

The Council’s formation creates an Andean vehicle for the specific treatment of gender and equal opportunity issues, similar to the Central American Integration System’s Council of Central American Ministers for Women’s Affairs and the MERCOSUR’s Specialized Meeting of Women. 

During the course of the Meeting, the Foreign Ministers also approved, through Decision 712, the Financing Agreement with the European Union for implementing the Anti-Illegal Drug Program in the Andean Community.  The budget for that program is 4 million 20 thousand euros, which is made up of a financial contribution of 3 million 250 thousand euros from European Community non reimbursable funds and a contribution of 770 thousand euros from the CAN Member Countries.  

This project will boost biregional cooperation based on the principle of shared responsibility in spheres like strengthening National Drug Observatories, promoting dialogue between the governments and civil society, carrying out activities to control chemical precursors, and consolidating the capacity of forensic laboratories to make drug analyses.

Lastly, through Decision 713, the Foreign Ministers update the Andean Disaster Prevention and Relief  Strategy and adjust it to the Hyogo Framework for Action, the most important political instrument for promoting and implementing disaster risk reduction at the international level. 

The purpose for updating the Strategy is to align it more closely with the guidelines of the cited Hyogo Framework for Action, to increase the capacity for obtaining cooperation funds and to modernize the intervention approach so that it conforms to the latest conceptual developments on the subject.