Goli Farrell, Administrative Officer, Emergency Telecommunications Project, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 1)

The number of disasters which require international response is increasing, and so is the number of relief workers, volunteers and staff members of international organizations who often risk their lives in the service of humanitarian assistance. For relief workers at the site of a natural disaster, such as an urban environment devastated by earthquake, the risks are obvious. In a country or region affected by a crisis such as civil strife even routine humanitarian work or an involuntary presence when such a situation suddenly erupts, has cost lives. In 1997 alone, 65 United Nations staff members were killed while on duty, 55 were detained or "disappeared", 47 were abducted and held hostage and many more were subject to assault, battery, abuse and rape.

In a statement of 19 June 1997 (S/PRST/1997/34), the United Nations Security Council expressed "its grave concern at all attacks or use of force against United Nations and other personnel associated with United Nations operations as well as personnel of humanitarian organizations, in violation of the relevant rules of international law, including those of humanitarian law. In this context, the Security Council recalls its resolution 868 (1993) and the statement by its President on 12 March 1997 (S/PRST/1997/13). It also recalls the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel adopted by the General Assembly on 9 December 1994. In this context it calls upon all parties concerned to ensure the safety and security of these personnel as well as personnel of humanitarian organizations, and encourages all States to consider ways and means to strengthen the protection of such personnel."

During and in the aftermath of a disaster, there is a need for reliable communications to coordinate relief activities and to ensure the appropriateness of the response under the often extremely difficult conditions encountered during or in the aftermath of a disaster. Telecommunications are, however, an equally vital element for the personal safety and security of those working in the service of humanitarian assistance. Their effective and timely use, in the sense of the statement of the Security Council, can contribute to the reduction of the risks to which international civil servants and relief workers are increasingly exposed.

A wide choice of tools for personal mobile communications are available, but their utilization is not yet fully yet ensured. Experience in United Nations Offices shows that one of the main impediments to efficient security management systems is the lack of a coordinated, unified communication system. To make country-specific security plans work, adequate communications, both internal and external, are essential elements, as the complex nature, broad variety and range of security risks faced by United Nations personnel need a supportive environment to enable the system to work.

As existing public communication networks, such as the telephone network, are often unreliable even under normal circumstances, and likely to be affected by the physical impact of a natural disaster, administrative disruptions in case of civil strife and overload in practically all cases, alternative communications systems must be in place and operational in case of emergency need. Such need commonly arises in three different forms:

1) An individual, team or field office is confronted with an acute danger and needs assistance. Situations range from the relatively harmless case of a vehicle breakdown in a remote area all the way to a threat of violence or an actual attack against an individual, a vehicle or premises. A stranded vehicle might be seen as more of an inconvenience than an acute threat, but the dangers increase with the time an individual or team is thus immobilized. Helpers might not be close enough to the site of an incident to intervene immediately, but the existence of a communication link might act as a deterrent in case of threat.

2) A relief worker makes an observation, which indicates a danger for others. A developing risk - such as a further movement of terrain after a landslide or mudflow caused by floods or an earthquake - might be discovered at a distance from the place where its consequences will endanger the lives of relief workers. In the same way, other observations might indicate a deterioration of the general security situation for a team working at a distance.

3) Measures to ensure the safety and security of personnel in case of a sudden crises need to be coordinated. Personnel which can not be reached in time, cannot benefit from even the best prepared evacuation plan, if a sudden deterioration of the situation requires this ultimate step of a security plan.

One of the bottlenecks in the use of telecommunications by international organizations is the requirement for radio licenses and frequency allocations by the host government. Diplomatic missions and, in some cases, offices of the United Nations, enjoy certain privileges in the use of telecommunications. Such privileges are however, restricted to the premises of the mission as such and neither cover the use of personal communications, such as hand-held VHF radios or mobile VHF or HF stations in vehicles, nor equipment used in field offices or by implementing partners of the United Nations, such as non-governmental organizations.

Agreements and licenses for the use of private telecommunication networks are not easily obtained. Many governments consider Radiocommunication, for the following reasons, as a very sensitive issue:

1) Control over telecommunications is often considered as control over information exchange, and therefore as an element of control or power.

2) Regulatory restrictions for private networks are often maintained in order to increase traffic on the public networks, from which the service provider (in many cases still a national authority) receives a revenue.

3) A "radio" of any kind still has the image of a "spy" attribute - this even nowadays, that far less conspicuous means of clandestine communications exist.

An improvement of this situation can be expected from the Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations, an international treaty which will be on the agenda of an intergovernmental conference in June 1998. The full application of the facilitation stipulated in this document will, however, depend on its implementation in national regulations.

In addition to the above administrative barriers, the utilization of existing telecommunications facilities in a sudden crisis situation has repeatedly been hindered by a lack of proper planning. The case of Rwanda, where an emergency evacuation of United Nations and humanitarian agencies personnel was rendered extremely difficult, may serve as an example: The only lifeline to the outside world, a land mobile Inmarsat satellite terminal, was locked in an office and the official responsible for this room had left the country and taken the key with him.

The United Nations Security Coordinator considers the provision of an effective security communication system as critical to the security management of each duty station. Additional resources have to be mobilized to provide a minimum standard of emergency telecommunications, including VHF hand-held, mobile and base stations, VHF repeaters, emergency power supplies, and programming software and hardware interfaces to ensure and maintain full network compatibility. For longer distance communications, vehicles and offices need to be equipped with HF stations, and each office requires at least one satellite telephone connection. However, the best equipment is of no use, unless at least one net control station provides 24 hour coverage for each network, and unless continuous training ensures that users are familiar with equipment and procedures and also aware of the importance of telecommunications for their personal safety and security.

With the increasing attention given to emergency telecommunications, not the least thanks to the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference on Emergency Telecommunications (ICET-98) in Tampere, Finland, 16 - 18 June 1998, the possibilities increase, for applying available technologies to the important task of the United Nations Security Coordinator and the designated security officials at each duty station: To save the lives of those who endeavor to save lives.

1) The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.