Emergency telecommunications

EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Second Tampere Conference on Disaster Communications

CDC-2001, 28-30 May – Improving disaster preparedness and response

For humanitarian agencies, the Tampere Convention represents a breakthrough which will permit the latest communications equipment to be deployed at the scene of a disaster without complicated legal entanglements and the lengthy delays these often entail

Photo: CICR/I. Gassman(ITU 970052)

Communication links are almost always disabled and disrupted during the first hours of natural disasters. This loss of communications is in itself a disaster. Very quickly, the areas hit by a disaster find themselves cut off. For relief operations, this is an equation with several unknowns. When relief workers arrive on the scene, there is an urgency to establish effective and comprehensive communication links between the affected area, national disaster response facilities, and with the larger international community.

Access to information is paramount. Relief agencies need to know: how many people have been injured or are dead; how many need medical help or transportation to medical facilities; where the people trapped in damaged buildings may be; and where search and rescue teams are most needed. All of this calls for tremendous international cooperation on different fronts. ITU's own mandate in disaster communications is to promote the adoption of measures for ensuring the safety of life through telecommunication services.

The Tampere Convention provides a framework for managing requests for telecommunication assistance, for minimizing the impediments to that assistance before disasters occur, and for identifying and evaluating best practices, model agreements and other valuable resources currently in use by disaster mitigation organizations

Photo: SIRPA/ECParmée(ITU 970057)

From 28 to 30 May 2001, Tampere, the third largest city in Finland, will host the second Conference on Disaster Communications (CDC-2001) under the patronage of the Finnish President, Tarja Halonen. CDC-2001 is open to participants from all sectors concerned with the application of telecommunications to disaster mitigation and response operations. These include: humanitarian organizations, such as United Nations agencies, the Red Cross movement, as well as national, regional and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations (NGO); national and international regulatory authorities; private sector enterprises, such as national and multinational telecommunication service providers and manufacturers of telecommunication equipment, as well as other experts from all these fields and from the academic sector.

Much has been achieved since the United Nations proclaimed the 1990s the "International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR)" and organized the International Conference on Disaster Communications in Geneva in 1990. But a lot remains to be done. The CDC-2001 agenda (see programme on pages 18-19) highlights the need for cooperation among all those involved in improving disaster preparedness and response. The much-needed interconnectivity among the communication networks of all partners can only be achieved if users and providers of these networks and tools work together, and if the regulatory framework allows the unhindered use of all appropriate communications. Once again, the Tampere event is expected to provide a way forward.

Built between two beautiful lakes, the city of Tampere has, over the past 10 years, become synonymous with international gatherings on telecommunications for humanitarian assistance. The first of these gatherings was the Tampere Conference of 1991, which resulted in the adoption of the first Declaration on Disaster Communications. This landmark declaration is a statement of experts from major humanitarian organizations, regulatory authorities and the private sector. It became the foundation of all subsequent work towards an international treaty to allow the unhindered use of telecommunication technology in international disaster response.

In particular, the Tampere Declaration called on ITU Member States to take all practical steps to facilitate the rapid deployment and effective use of telecommunications equipment for disaster mitigation and disaster relief by reducing, and where possible, removing regulatory barriers and strengthening transborder cooperation between countries.

Sadako Ogata, former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees during a session on «Telecommunications in the Service of Humanitarian Assistance» at ITU Telecom 99

"Emergency teams setting up vast operations depend on a couple of satellite phones, and a few overworked technicians and operators. Yet, effective communication systems are crucial. We are more aware than anybody else of the importance of good telecommunications for security. However, limited resources mean that our access to the best technology is also limited. Telecommunications today are about partnerships. UNHCR is prepared to enter into stand-by arrangements with telecommunication companies, that could be activated in case of large emergencies, and through which resources can be made available, and more importantly, staff can be deployed to provide support in refugee operations."

Photo: A. de Ferron (ITU 010030)

The combined efforts of the ITU and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) led to the adoption of the Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunications for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations, an international treaty, deposited with the United Nations Secretary-General. As part of its name suggests, this treaty was adopted in Tampere at the Intergovernmental Conference on Emergency Telecommunications in 1998 (ICET-98). The Tampere Convention was opened for signature in New York on 22 June 1998, and will remain open until 21 June 2003. Under international law, the Convention will officially come into force 30 days after an official ratification or "consent to be bound" has been received from 30 countries. As at 15 March 2001, the Convention had been signed by 48 Member States and ratified by eight. This treaty is particularly important for humanitarian organizations, which rely heavily on telecommunications equipment to coordinate the complicated logistics of rescue operations.

Very often, the transborder use of telecommunication equipment is impeded by regulatory barriers that make it extremely difficult for humanitarian organizations to import and rapidly deploy such equipment without the prior consent and approval of the relevant local authorities. These organizations include OCHA, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The Convention, among other things, aims to reduce administrative formalities of all kinds (licences, customs, charging, etc.) and to promote the drawing up of national plans and inventories of telecommunication resources to be deployed in the event of a disaster or emergency.

Like the 1991 conference, CDC-2001 is expected to come up with a statement of experts in the form of recommendations, and will provide an excellent opportunity for governments to sign and ratify the Tampere Convention.

- For registration and payment for CDC-2001, please contact:
Annamaija Paunu-Virtanen or Anja Hakkarainen
TAVI Congress Bureau
Papinkatu 21,
FIN-33200 Tampere (Finland)
Tel.: +358 3 233 0460
Fax: +358 3 233 0444
E-mail: annamaija.paunu-virtanen@tavicon.fi
Internet address: www.tavicon.fi/english.htm
- For further information on CDC-2001, please contact:
Seppo Sisättö
Chairman of the Organizing Committee
Tel.: +358 3 346 5199
Mobile phone +358 50 1372
Fax: +358 3 346 5377
E-mail: seppo.sisatto@kotiposti.net,
with a copy to Hans Zimmermann E-mail: hans.zimmermann@ties.itu.int

How to sign/ratify the Tampere Convention

which provides the legal framework for the use of telecommunications in international assistance

"First, the Convention puts in place a structure for managing requests for telecommunication assistance and for minimizing the impediments to that assistance before disasters occur. Second, it creates mechanisms for identifying and evaluating best practices, model agreements, and other valuable resources currently in use by disaster mitigation organizations - public and private - and for developing new ones where needed. Finally, the Convention contributes the force of multinational moral persuasion to the importance of this subject and to the people involved in disaster mitigation relief. It recognizes publicly that telecommunications are essential to dealing with disasters, not just because reliable telecommunications are a critical underpinning of all other mitigation and relief efforts."

Professor F. Cate, Advisor to the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Conference on Emergency Telecommunications (ICET-98), Tampere, 16-18 June 1998.

	The Tampere Convention
	Provides the legal framework for the use of telecommunications in international humanitarian assistance Reduces regulatory barriers Protects providers of telecommunication assistance while safeguarding the interests of the host country
	The United Nations Secretary-General is the Depositary of the Convention.
	The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator is the Operational Coordinator under the Convention, working closely with the International Telecommunication Union.
	For further information on depositary matters (signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession), please contact: United Nations Treaty Section, Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) New York, United States Tel.: +1 212 963 3918/5047 Fax: +1 212 963 3693 On operational matters (application and implementation), please contact: United Nations Mr H. Zimmermann Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Geneva, Switzerland Tél.: +41 22 917 3516/1455 Fax: +41 22 917 0208/0023 E-mail: hans.zimmermann@itu.int

	HOW TO SIGN / RATIFY this convention
	Proper full powers are required by all persons seeking to sign a treaty deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations or to make a reservation upon signature, except Heads of State or Government, or Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
	Full powers should:
	bear the signature of the Head of State or Government, or the Minister of Foreign Affairs specify clearly the title of the instrument to be signed state the full name of the person authorized to sign the instrument concerned.
	As already stated, full powers are not required where the Head State or Government or the Minister of Foreign Affairs signs in person. Furthermore, where general full powers have been issued to a person and have been deposited with the Secretariat in advance, specific full powers are not required.
	It is advised that, whenever possible, full powers should be submitted for verification to the Treaty Section of the United Nations in advance of the intended date of signature.

Here is a sample of an instrument of full powers:

* Subject to the provisions of the treaty, one of the following alternatives is to be chosen: [subject to ratification] or [without reservation as to ratification].

"Finland's engagement in relief efforts around the world, combined today with our expertise in telecommunications, has given us an understanding of how fundamentally important a functioning telecommunications system is in any emergency situation."

Martti Ahtisaari

Former President of the Republic of Finland, patron of ICET-98.

"Humanitarian work is one of the most important, but also one of the most difficult tasks of the United Nations. Human suffering cannot be measured in figures, and its dimensions often surpass our imagination, even at a time when news about natural and other disasters reaches every corner of the globe in next to real time. An appropriate response depends upon the timely availability of accurate data from the often remote and inaccessible sites of crises. From the mobilization of assistance to the logistics chain, which will carry assistance to the intended beneficiaries, reliable telecommunication links are indispensable."

Kofi A. Annan

Secretary-General of the United Nations.
An extract from the ICET-98 Guide, Tampere, 16-18 June 1998.

Published by

International Telecommunication Union
Place des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland
Telephone: + 41 22 730 6039
Fax: +41 22 730 5939 / 733 7256
E-mail: pressinfo@itu.int

ITU: a decade's involvement in DISASTER COMMUNICATIONS

1991	ITU took an active part in the Tampere Conference, which recommended that an intergovernmental conference should be convened to prepare for the negotiation of an International Convention on Disaster Communications no later than 1993.
1994	The World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-94), held in Buenos Aires, passed Resolution7 inviting ITU to study the technical, operational and regulatory aspects of emergency telecommunications; study charging and accounting in domestic and international disaster communications; and help developing countries, particularly the least developed ones, to prepare their telecommunication services in the event of disaster. The resolution also requests ITU to work closely with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA) with a view to increasing the Union’s involvement in disaster communications. The Plenipotentiary Conference (Kyoto, 1994), endorsed the Tampere Declaration and passed Resolution36 instructing the Council to address the issues raised in Resolution7 of WTDC-94 and take the action necessary to implement this Resolution.
1994-1997	The Working Group on Emergency Telecommunications (WGET) drafted the Tampere Convention. WGET is an open forum that facilitates the use of telecommunications in the service of humanitarian assistance. It comprises United Nations entities, major non-governmental organizations, the International Commitee of the Red Cross (ICRC), ITU and experts from the private sector and academia.
1996	The annual session of the ITU Council gave the Secretary-General the go-ahead to enable ITU to play an important role in the implementation of the future Convention.
1997	The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-97), held in Geneva in October-November, passed Resolution 644 urging administrations to give their full support to the adoption of the Convention.
1998	The Valletta Declaration, adopted at the second World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-98), underlined the importance of emergency telecommunications and the need for an international Convention. The Plenipotentiary Conference (Minneapolis, 1998) instructed the ITU Secretary-General to study the possibilities of increasing the use of telecommunications for the safety and security of humanitarian personnel in the field and to report to the 1999 session of the Council for appropriate action to improve that use. Furthermore, this conference urged Member States to ensure that humanitarian personnel have unhindered and uninterrupted use of telecommunication resources required for their safety and security, in accordance with the national rules and regulations of the States concerned. To this end, the conference called on Member States to work towards the earliest possible ratification, acceptance, approval or final signature of the Tampere Convention.
2000	The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-2000), held in Istanbul, approved revisions to two major resolutions. Resolution 644 invites ITU to continue to study, as a matter of urgency, those aspects of radiocommunications that are relevant to disaster mitigation and relief operations, including amateur radio facilities, mobile and portable satellite terminals. Resolution 10 urges ITU Member States to take account of the possible needs of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement for two-way wireless telecommunication means when normal communication facilities are interrupted or not available. The Resolution also urges countries to assign to these organizations the minimum number of necessary working frequencies in accordance with the Radio Regulations, while taking all practicable steps to protect such communications from harmful interference. The two organizations heavily rely on two-way wireless telecommunication facilities (particularly HF and VHF radio networks) for the efficient and safe conduct of their humanitarian operations.

CDC-2001 Programme

Monday, 28 May 2001

09h30–10h15	Opening statement Olli-Pekka Heinonen, Minister of Transport and Communications	10h15–10h30	Working procedures and organization of the conference
		10h30–11h00	Keynote speeches

Theme 1:

Users view on disaster reduction, disaster response and disaster recovery. Experiences, needs, existing tools of communication

11h30–12h00

The role of United Nations

This presentation highlights the different missions of the United Nations from the perspective of telecommunications

14h45–15h15

When the worst happens
The floor will be given to the representative of a country, which has been subject to a major natural disaster to share their experience. What happened to communications in the disaster? How was the situation managed?

12h00–12h30

The role of voluntary organizations
The role and needs of voluntary disaster mitigation organizations will be demonstrated

15h45–16h15

After the Worst has happened: Return to Normal
What is needed when the disaster area is being reconstructed and life is being restored to normal?

14h00–14h45

Two views on crisis management

Two presentations illustrate the complexities of international crisis management and the necessity of reliable and flexible communication methods

16h15–16h45

Advance planning of disaster communications
A presentation that discusses the long-term planning of communications and explains how a possible disaster incident can be taken into account

16h45–17h00

Discussion

Tuesday, 29 May 2001

Continuation of Theme 1:

Users view on disaster reduction, disaster response and disaster recovery. Experiences, needs, existing tools of communication

09h00–10h00

Regional profiles
Representatives from different regions of the world will give an overview of their status with regard to disaster communications. What is happening and why? What are the issues of major importance? Plans and future trends?

10h00–10h30

Response preparedness
This presentation gives examples of early warning systems. Can natural disasters be recognized in advance? How can advance warning be given to the inhabitants of the threatened area?

Theme 2:

Technology issues. How can technology respond to the needs? Equipment manufacturers, telecommunication operators and interest groups report how their products and services can be used to prevent, respond to and recover from disasters

11h00–11h15	Conventional PMR	12h15–12h30	Radio amateurs
11h15–11h30	TETRA	14h00–14h15	Global satellite networks for personal communications
11h30–11h45	2nd generation cellular networks	14h15–14h30	Regional satellite networks
11h45–12h00	IMT-2000	14h30–14h45	The benefits of an open protocol
12h00–12h15	What can HF radio offer in the future?	14h45–15h00	Can the Internet provide the interconnectivity?

Theme 3:

Regulatory issues. Standardization of systems. Provision of frequency spectrum. Are there regulatory constraints? What can be done to alleviate difficulties?

15h30–16h00	The Tampere Convention The content, ratification situation and day of entry into force of the Tampere Convention is explained (representatives of governments will have the opportunity to sign the Convention)	16h00–16h30	World Radiocommunication Conferences The process of World Radiocommunication Conferences is highlighted. How are radio frequencies harmonized? Are there idle frequencies? What to do to obtain spectrum for disaster communications?
		16h30–17h30	Discussion

Wednesday, 30 May 2001

Continuation of Theme 3:

Regulatory issues. Standardization of systems. Provision of frequency spectrum. Are there regulatory constraints? What can be done to alleviate difficulties?

09h00–09h30	Global Standardization Why is standardization needed? What is the relevance of standardization to disaster communications? What is under development to facilitate disaster communications?	10h00–10h30	Global circulation of radio terminals Many countries control the carriage and use of radiocommunication equipment with licences, border controls, type approvals and regulations. Is the circulation of radio terminals adequately easy to facilitate disaster communications?
09h30–10h00	Public Safety Partnership Project What is this project? Members, work plan and estimated outcome are explained

11h00–12h30	Adoption of Summary / Opinion of the Conference	12h30–13h00	Closing address