Civil defense framework convention - ICDO
Activities - International CooperationIn the changing environment, full of opportunities and risks, which is that of globalisation, the challenges for States and their civil defence organisations, are as numerous as they are difficult. National structures of civil defence, which are States instruments intended to ensure protection and assistance to all in the face of disasters, will always be more and more solicited as long as risks and dangers are constantly increasing and the ever-greater occurrence of disasters is as predictable as it is unavoidable. It is therefore up to States to strengthen them and maximise their capacities.
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Forty-six States took part in the conference, under the presidence of Senegal, represented by Mr. Abdoulaye Ndiaye, Director of Civil Defence, and led by his Executive Secretary, Professor Jean Viret, ICDO expert. The final text of the Framework Convention on Civil Defence Assistance was decided on the basis of the French version by an editorial committee made up of delegates from the Republic of Cameroon, the United Arab Emirates, the Russian Federation, the Dominican Republic, Senegal and the Ukraine, under the leadership of the Executive Secretary to the Conference. The versions of the Framework Convention in English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and Russian were based on the French version and are equally valid. Furthermore the Conference accepted the proposal of the International Civil Defence Organization to be the Depository for the Framework Convention. All States are invited to sign the Framework Convention on Civil Defence Assistance from 22 May 2000 onwards, by providing a copy of the text, duly signed and dated by the appropriate Authority for the Secretary General of the ICDO. The Framework-Convention may also be signed during a ceremony which will be organised to this effect by the ICDO in Geneva in October 2000. Those States which so desire are also invited to express their final agreement to being bound by the Framework-Convention in accordance with procedures in effect in their domestic law and to transmit their instruments of ratification and/or of accession to the Framework Convention to the Secretary General of the ICDO at their earliest convenience. of the Framework Convention on Civil Defence Assistance 22 May 2000, Geneva, Switzerland Message from Mr. Sadok Znaļdi Secretary-General of the International Civil Defence Organisation Ladies and Gentlemen, I would first like to welcome you and to thank you for taking part in this Conference for the finalisation of the Framework Convention on Civil Defence Assistance. Please be aware that ICDO attaches a particular importance to international cooperation in the field of civil defence, this at all levels, local, regional and national, and that it encourages and supports the initiatives taken in this field. International cooperation in the field of civil defence is clearly an important theme and one which, in view of the number and scale of disasters in the world, be they of natural or human origin, still and always deserves to be further considered, improved and refined. Ladies and Gentlemen, Let me remind you in a few words of the objectives of the International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO). The ICDO is an intergovernmental organisation whose goal is to contribute to the development by States of structures able to ensure the protection and assistance of populations and to safeguard property and the environment in the face of natural or man-made disasters. These structures are generally known as civil protection, civil defence or civil safety and emergency management systems. The ICDO federates the national structures established for this purpose by States, with the aim of favouring cooperation and mutual solidarity between them. The main activities of the Organisation are in the following fields : - Development of national civil defence structures - Promotion of disaster prevention - International cooperation in civil defence With regard to the last of these, the ICDO contributes to the design and use of instruments for cooperation between national civil defence structures. The ICDO coordinates mutual assistance operations between national civil defence structures both to prevent disasters and intervene when they occur (exchange of expertise, coordination of rescue activities, etc.). Moreover, the ICDO encourages and facilitates standardisation in civil defence matters and emergency situations management through the diffusion of norms in this field. Finally, the ICDO promotes a common culture in civil defence matters through, for example, the diffusion of the rules of International Humanitarian Law relating to civil defence. Ladies and Gentlemen, In the changing environment, full of opportunities and risks, which is that of globalisation, the challenges for States and their civil defence organisations, are as numerous as they are difficult. National structures of civil defence, which are States instruments intended to ensure protection and assistance to all in the face of disasters, will always be more and more solicited as long as risks and dangers are constantly increasing and the ever-greater occurrence of disasters is as predictable as it is unavoidable. It is therefore up to States to strengthen them and maximise their capacities. Indeed, I would like to remind you that the General Assembly of the United Nations, through Resolution 2034 adopted on 7 December 1965 invited States to put in place a system suited to their particular situation with a view to establishing the scope and type of resources necessary and to centralise the management of rescue operations in the face of disasters. This Resolution is now more topical than ever. Ladies and Gentlemen, National civil defence structures should anticipate and foresee disasters, draw up plans for tackling them and develop the practice of learning from experiences. Civil defence structures must also play their role of advisor to the full. Indeed, it is up to them to act as the State's technical counsellor in the field of risk management. Moreover, national civil defence structures must argue in favour of the integration of emergency prevention and preparedness measures into the long-term social and economic development policies. Finally, national civil defence structures are coordinating bodies working in a multi-sectoral framework. As such it is up to them to coordinate the actions of the different State entities involved in disaster prevention and mitigation. Civil defence must therefore have a global and forward-looking vision of the situations in which it is called upon to intervene. National civil defence structures are therefore an essential part of the system established by States to face up to disasters. States have, on numerous occasions and during many international forums, indicated their wish to develop common approaches and strategies to face up to disasters. It therefore seems as normal as it is important that their national civil defence structures be able to collaborate and that framework conditions favourable to this collaboration are created. It is in this context that the ICDO elaborated the Draft of a Framework Convention on Civil Defence Assistance, on the occasion of the International Conference on Civil Defence, which was held in Beijing in 1998. This Conference adopted a Declaration aiming to put into practice a « World Action Plan for the development of civil defence ». It is in the content of this Plan that the Draft for a Framework Convention in Civil Defence, which we are called upon to finalise today, can be found. Indeed the objective of this Conference is to give this document its final form, to designate the body or bodies which will be its depositary and to agree the place and date from which it should be open to signature and adhesion by States. The objective of the Framework Convention on civil defence is to encourage and facilitate collaboration between States in the field of civil defence, be it for prevention, preparation, or intervention in the face of natural or man-made disasters. Although bi-lateral and multi-lateral agreements on the management of emergency situations already exist, it should be pointed out that there is no universal convention on this question and that administrative constraints linked to the sovereignty of States and to differences in the national definitions of civil defence act as a brake on international cooperation and should be cut, if not done away with altogether. The adoption of universal principles on which to base disaster assistance in the form of a multilateral treaty can, on the one hand, fill a judicial gap and, on the other, act as a catalyser to the signing of bilateral technical agreements which can, as we know, sometimes be difficult to negotiate during emergency situations. The Framework Convention proposed is therefore of a nature such as to encourage States to become more actively involved in cooperation in the field of civil defence and to remove the obstacles that can hinder the pooling of civil defence resources, especially in case of imminent or actual disasters. I should again like to stress the fact that disasters are not always confined within State borders and that prevention and preparation in the face of disasters depends for a large part on cooperation between States. This is why it seemed to us that this Framework Convention should be such as to facilitate cooperation between States, notably in the fields of technical assistance, the exchange of information and experience, as well as of experts and personnel between developed and developing countries. This Framework Convention does not affect other obligations assumed by Party States under international law. In 1999, the ICDO undertook a consultation process on this Framework Convention with all States and this has been amended in light of the comments received. I should like to take this opportunity to warmly thank all the States who conveyed to us their appreciation of the Draft we submitted to them. Thanks to their observations and their pertinent remarks, they contributed in a decisive way to the development of the text drawn up in 1998. It is therefore an amended and improved version which we are called upon to finalise today. Ladies and Gentlemen, The ICDO has moreover realised that the multiplicity of actors involved in managing emergency situations at the national and international levels is both a blessing and a source of relative confusion. In a context increasingly oriented towards an international approach to dealing with disasters, it is important to clarify the organisation and the scope of those entities' activities, especially those whose mission it is to coordinate protection and assistance operations at the international level, be it in the framework of bilateral or multilateral operations, by making available to them information that is as clear and complete as possible on the national partners with whom they may be called to collaborate. This is why the ICDO has compiled an « International Directory of National Structures of Civil Protection, Civil Defence, Civil Safety and Emergency Management » the first version of which was published in 1999. Admittedly, different documents exist which cover all or part of this subject, but on the whole none provides an easily useable global picture of the different systems of protection and assistance in use the world over. This Directory, which has been made possible thanks to the information provided by States themselves, endeavours to provide a clear and structured presentation of the management of emergency situations in these States under the following headings : Legal framework, Regulations and Procedures, Organisation, Staff, Training, Equipment and Finances. In addition, a special section is devoted to the international organisations concerned with the management of emergency situations. Presented as a yearbook, which will be updated annually, the International Civil Defence Directory is a publication destined for States, international governmental and non governmental organisations, private firms, specialised institutions and academics concerned with cooperation in the field of emergency management. It should, through the information it provides, facilitate cooperation at the regional and international levels and also contribute to the development or strengthening of those national structures responsible for civil protection, defence, safety and emergency management. The 2001 edition will be published in November. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to conclude briefly by formulating the wish that international cooperation in civil defence intensifies in the years to come. Civil protection, civil defence, civil safety are the tools which most States have given themselves to face up to risks and disasters. It is therefore important that solidarity between these bodies is developed so that they may undertake their mission to the full, in the interest of disaster victims throughout the world. Thank you for your attention. |
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