The Tampere Convention — a life-saving treaty

In Tampere, a city in Finland 200 km north of Helsinki, 225 delegates from 75 countries gathered in June, 1998, for the Intergovernmental Conference on Emergency Telecommunications. That landmark meeting culminated in the adoption and signing of the Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Relief and Mitigation and Relief Operations — the world’s first global treaty recognizing the vital importance of communication technology in humanitarian crises. ITU was one of the organizations at the forefront in drafting this life-saving treaty.

The Tampere Convention came into force on 8 January 2005, following its ratification by 30 States just two weeks after the massive Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004. It has been ratified by a total of 36 countries to date. The United Nations Secretary-General is the Depository of the Convention.

Removing barriers to the deployment of telecommunication equipment

	ITU/P. Kuivanen
	The Tampere Conference Centre, where the treaty was born

In many countries, laws and regulations still hamper — or, in the worst case, prohibit — the timely arrival and deployment of telecommunication equipment at disaster scenes. Local customs officials might be stymied by restrictive import provisions, and humanitarian agencies left struggling without access to even basic communications during search and rescue operations.

The Tampere Convention seeks to expedite the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) by emergency teams, by allowing for the temporary waiving of national laws covering the importation, licensing and use of communications equipment. It also assures legal immunity for aid workers using emergency ICT systems in responding to disasters.

The treaty provides for improved disaster preparedness by creating a mechanism for the sharing of information and best practice. In addition, it sets out a clear framework for international cooperation, managed by ITU through national focal points.

Almost ten years on, the Tampere Convention has become the global foundation for effective ICT deployment in emergency relief efforts. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which acts as the treaty’s global operational coordinator, notes that major improvements have already been made in the area of disaster preparedness, with many countries proactively establishing emergency response partnerships.

More work required

However, experts agree that more work is urgently needed if the enormous potential of ICT is to be put to best use. One important area is radiocommunications. "To facilitate speedy authorization of radiocommunication-based equipment in emergencies, we are encouraging national authorities to put rules in place ahead of time, to facilitate the operation of equipment by visiting personnel," said Fabio Leite, Deputy to the Director of ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau. "We also urge manufacturers to ensure that their radio and wireless equipment conforms to ITU Recommendations, to avoid any chance of harmful interference with other services in any country in which such equipment is deployed," he added.

Regulatory reform is another area needing attention. "One of the reasons more countries have not yet ratified the Tampere agreement is that under-resourced nations lack the expertise needed to ascertain the impact of the Convention on existing legislation, national rights and responsibilities," noted Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau. To encourage more countries to ratify the treaty, the World Telecommunication Development Conference in Doha in March 2006 took a decision (Resolution 34) that will see ITU assume a more active role in supporting national administrations in their work towards implementing the Tampere Convention.

Resolution 34 focuses on the role of telecommunications and ICT "in early warning and mitigation of disasters and humanitarian assistance". In November 2006, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya took another important decision in this area. Its Resolution 36 invites Member States "to work towards their accession to the Tampere Convention as a matter of priority". It also urges Member States that are parties to the Convention to take all practical steps to apply the treaty, and to work closely with the Operational Coordinator as provided for in Resolution 34 (Doha, 2006).

Grass-roots experience during the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 indicated that on-going support for countries that have ratified the Convention might also be needed. "Problems relating to the import and operation of telecommunication equipment persist in a number of countries, despite their ratification of the Convention," said Chérif Ghaly, Chair of the United Nations Working Group on Emergency Telecommunications (WGET). "We clearly need to step up efforts to ensure that States are fully aware of the provisions of the Convention and their role and responsibilities."

Nevertheless, significant advances have been made since the Convention was first signed. Emergency response partnerships are firmly in place, well ahead of any disaster. "We can now rely on clear stand-by arrangements, stockpiles of critical telecommunication equipment, and international rosters of available resources," said Mr Ghaly. "Since Tampere, we have even more tools at our disposal to minimize the impact of natural disasters. We need to take advantage of this by establishing early-warning systems, adopting shared information systems such as the Common Alerting Protocol, and implementing technologies best adapted to disaster response, such as geospatial technologies, satellite imaging and satellite communications."