TAMPERE CONVENTION:  SAVING LIVES THROUGH EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 7 January (ITU/OCHA) -- Victims of disasters will now be able to benefit from faster and more effective rescue operations.  Today, the Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations came into force after it was ratified by 30 countries.  The treaty simplifies the use of life-saving telecommunications equipment in the 30 States that have ratified the treaty.  “From the mobilization of assistance to the logistics chain, which will carry assistance to the intended beneficiaries, reliable telecommunication links are indispensable”, said United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Disasters kill 1 million people each decade and leave millions more homeless worldwide.  When relief workers arrive on the scene, they often find a complete or partial breakdown in communications -- communications that are essential for finding out where the victims are, how many people are injured or are dead, and how many need medical help or transportation to medical facilities.

Although national rules and regulations on the import and use of telecommunication equipment are well founded, in an emergency they can hinder response by rescue teams.  Until now, various regulatory barriers have made it extremely difficult for aid workers to rapidly deploy telecommunications equipment without the prior consent of local authorities.  Moreover, officials who grant authorization for telecommunications are normally rendered incommunicado in a disaster.  This makes it very difficult to coordinate the use of frequencies, obtain clearance for the import of the equipment or use it.  These formalities have caused delay and loss of lives.  Now, many barriers that currently impede the use of telecommunication resources for disasters and mitigation are waived in the States that have signed the convention.

“Telecommunications saves lives”, said Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, which, along with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), has been a driving force in drafting and promoting the Convention.  “With this Convention, the work of relief workers will be made much easier, enabling them to make full use of today’s telecommunication tools which are essential for the coordination of rescue operations.”

The legally binding international treaty was unanimously adopted on 18 June 1998 by 75 countries attending the Intergovernmental Conference on Emergency Telecommunications (ICET-98) in Tampere, Finland.  The Treaty was then open for accession, requiring 30 ratifications to come into effect.

The Convention describes the procedures for telecommunication assistance, recognizing the right of a State to direct, control and coordinate assistance provided under the Convention within its territory.  It also requires States to make an inventory of resources -- both human and material -- available for disaster mitigation and relief, and to develop a telecommunication action plan that identifies the steps necessary to deploy those resources.

The Convention is the first treaty of its kind that provides privileges and immunities to the staff of non-governmental organizations, and it exempts relief agencies, including non-governmental organizations, from taxation and duties.  It also facilitates non-governmental organizations’ and implementing partners’ use of telecommunications when they are working in tandem on disasters with United Nations agencies or the International Federation of the Red Cross/Red Crescent (IFRC).  Before the arrival of telecommunication assistance in a disaster zone, a State that is party to the Convention must specify the fees it expects to receive or have reimbursed.  To avoid excessive charges, the fees are based on an agreed model of payment and reimbursement, as well as on other factors such as the nature of the disaster, natural hazard and the particular needs of developing countries.

“OCHA aims to ensure the best response to disasters to prevent loss of life and help survivors.  The Convention will make that work easier”, said Jan Egeland, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator and Operational Coordinator of the Tampere Convention.

For further information, please contact:  Chérif Ghaly, Chief, Information and Communications Technology Section, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, tel.:  +41 22 917 2184, fax:  +41 22 917 0440, e-mail:  ghaly@un.org.

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