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SECOND
PHASE OF WSIS: TUNIS
PrepCom-2:
17-25 February 2005, Geneva
(Switzerland)
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| Themed
sessions on icts
for Disaster Relief |
|
World
Health Organization (WHO) and International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) Themed Sessions on ICTs for Disaster Relief
Date:
22 February 2005
Location: Palais
des Nations, room XI
13.30
- 14.45:
Panel session on "ICT for Health Action in the
Tsunami Crisis," organized
by WHO.
Link
to detailed
programme.
18.15 - 19.30: Panel session on "Telecoms for Disaster
Relief: Tampere Convention," organized by ITU.
Link
to detailed
programme, presentations and list of partcipants.
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| Background
to joint sessions on disaster relief |
Disasters, such as the recent tsunami in the Indian
Ocean, highlight the importance of preparedness, early
warning and effective relief coordination in saving
lives. Information and communication technologies (ICTs)
play a central role in the disaster relief effort by
facilitating the distribution of crucial information
between citizens, relief workers and local and
international authorities in a fast and reliable
manner. Nevertheless, existing regulations can delay
critical access to these technologies in a disaster
area by
imposing barriers that restrict the import and rapid
deployment of emergency telecommunications equipment,
the use of the radio-frequency spectrum by
humanitarian teams, or that restrain the transit of
necessary personnel and telecommunication resources
for disaster mitigation and relief.
The
Tampere
Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication
Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief
Operations,
adopted
in June 1998, which entered into force on 8 January
2005, provides a platform to break these barriers
through principles that facilitate the use of
emergency telecommunications equipment for timely
humanitarian assistance. The International
Telecommunication Union (ITU)
has
for many years been involved in the coordination
and study of telecommunications
for disaster relief
initiatives
(TDR) and participated actively in drafting and
promoting the Convention.
Together
with the
UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),
the Operational Coordinator of the Convention, ITU will play a central role in the implementation of the
objectives of the Convention, facilitating and
supporting the cooperation and coordination of state
parties; developing model agreements and diffusing
best practices in the provision of telecommunication
assistance for disaster relief, as well as collecting
and disseminating systems and procedures to facilitate
the implementation of the Convention.
Advancing
the use of ICT applications in health care, including
the provision of humanitarian assistance for disaster
relief, is also one of the goals included in the Declaration
of Principles and Plan of Action
pursued
by the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS),
as part of its effort to spread the benefits of ICTs
to all aspects of life.
Under this initiative, and under
the umbrella of PrepCom-2, the World
Health Organization (WHO) and International
Telecommunication Union (ITU)
will host a presentation session on 22 February 2005, to inform
participants on the work currently being undertaken by
these two United Nations’ organizations and share
the experiences of other ICT-based initiatives for
disaster relief.
|
| Tampere
Convention |
|
The principles of the Tampere Convention have been ratified by 30
countries
and are being applied by many non-signatory states as a reference
for bilateral or multilateral agreements. A core principle of the
Convention is the reduction or removal of regulatory barriers for disaster mitigation and relief, in
conformity with national laws. As part of this goal, the
Convention establishes procedures for requesting and providing
telecommunication assistance, and recognizes the right of a state
to supervise all assistance provided within its territory under
the Convention. Some of the articles of the Convention also
outline specific procedures to deal with the payment of costs, the
resolution of disputes, and the provision of privileges,
immunities and facilities to non-national individuals and
organizations participating in disaster relief operations within
the requesting state party, to the extent permitted by its
national law.
Foreseeing the need to be prepared, the
Convention calls each state party to establish a telecommunication
assistance inventory, which shall include all the governmental,
intergovernmental and non-governmental human and material
resources available to provide telecommunication assistance, or to
facilitate the use of telecommunication equipment during a
disaster relief operation. This inventory must be supported by the
development of a telecommunication action plan that identifies the
steps needed to deploy those resources. For in-depth information
on the Tampere
Convention and other organizations involved in ICT-based
initiatives for disaster relief, please click on the links below.
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|
Other relevant links and documents on disaster relief |
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Links to organizations and initiatives
Cellular
Emergency Alert Systems Association (CEASA) International
INMARSAT
ReliefWeb
Swiss
Agency for Development and Cooperation
Télécoms
Sans Frontières
UNESCO
– Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission
University
of the West Indies - Seismic Research Unit
World
Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Other articles, documents and presentations
Chairman's
report 
from the WMO
WSIS Thematic Meeting on
ICT applications in natural disaster reduction, organized
during the World Conference on Disaster Reduction held 21 January,
2005 in Kobe, Japan.
Tsunamis
early warning system for the Caribbean
by the University of the West Indies - Seismic Research Unit
ITU
Strategy and Policy Unit (SPU) E-Flash
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|
WSIS
PrepCom-2 main page |
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