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ASSISTANCE AND PROTECTION FOR ALL

The International Civil Defence Organisation is an intergovernmental organisation whose objective is to contribute to the development by States of structures ensuring the protection and assistance of population and safeguarding property and the environment from natural or man-made disasters.

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ICDO Members


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ICDO Constitution

ICDO Internal Regulations


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ICDO | Presentation

History

In 1931 the French Surgeon-General Georges Saint-Paul founded in Paris (France) the "Lieux de Genève Association" from which the present International Civil Defence Organization (ICDO) originated. Under "Lieux de Genève" or "Geneva Zones" (Geneva : Henry Dunant's birthplace, home of the Red Cross, headquarters of the League of Nations), the Surgeon-General meant neutralized zones or open towns in which some categories of the civilian population could seek refuge during wartime.

The International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO): from 1931 to date

 
 

Composition of the ICDO


ICDO BODIES

The functioning of the Organisation is ensured by :


• the General Assembly, which is the supreme authority of the Organisation and is composed of the delegates representing Member States; the General Assembly meets in ordinary session at intervals not exceeding two years.

• the Executive Council, which meets at least once a year. The Council implements the decisions taken by the Assembly and conducts the activities of the Organisation in accordance with these decisions;

• the Permanent Secretariat, which is responsible for the technical and administrative management of the Organisation.
  

Membership of the ICDO is open to all States which accept its Constitution and takes effect thirty days after the deposit of the instrument of ratification or accession.

All States may ask to be admitted to the status of Observer. This status does not offer all the privileges of State Membership. An Observer may participate in all ICDO activities and will be invited to sessions of the General Assembly, without right of vote. The status of Observer is reviewed every two years by the General Assembly and maintained to the extent in which the State thus benefitting shows its interest in the activities and programmes of the Organisation.

Moreover, any State which is part of a Federal State, a Confederation, or an Union of States and any autonomous administrative sub-division of a unitary state may request its admission as Associate Member of ICDO without right of vote in the General Assembly.

Finally, Affiliated membership status may be granted to:

• Governmental and non-governmental international organisations whose mandate relates closely to the ICDO’s
• Private commercial or industrial concerns which submit an application.


What is the Civil Defence?

The Diplomatic Conference on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law applicable in armed conflicts, held from 1974 to 1977, inscribed the role of Civil Defence in Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions and thus gave Civil Defence organisations a status which ensured them protection in the accomplishment of their tasks under a distinctive identification symbol: a blue equilateral triangle on an orange background.
 

In the terms of Protocole I, the expression “Civil Defence” means the accomplishment of humanitarian actions intended to protect civilian population from dangers of hostilities or disasters, to assist them in surmounting their immediate effects and to ensure the necessary conditions for their survival.

Civil Defence therefore occupies an important place in International Humanitarian Law and it is essential that Governments and public opinion, at the national and international levels, actively ensure the dissemination and implementation of International Humanitarian Law relating to Civil Defence.

  Civil Defence in International Humanitarian Law

 Protocol Additional I to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (extract) 

Essential management tools in disasters

National civil defence organisations have a crucial role to play in natural or man-made disasters, both as regards prevention and preparedness as well as in case of intervention. Their responsibility is increasingly widespread in all parts of the world given the scope of the threats which they have to face.

National civil defence services increasingly have to act as coordinators of all the partners called upon to intervene in the management of emergency situations. Working in a multisectorial framework, they are the ideal channel for the many and diverse rescue operations aimed at safeguarding life, property and the environment before, during and after disasters.

Because of the nature and scope of their role, national civil defence services do not have a monopoly in any type of situation in the matter of prevention, preparation or intervention. Neither is it their vocation to specialise in any particular discipline.

Multifunctional and taking many forms, civil defence services constitute for States a leading management tool intended to confront risks and disasters in the best possible conditions.

 
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