Today, the international civil defense organization, hereinafter referred to as the ICDO, is recognized as an intergovernmental organization, the main specialization of which is to carry out a number of civil defense measures and ensure the protection of the population at the international highest level.
Composition and tasks of the international civil defense organization
At the moment, the members of this active Organization are participating States, observers, associate members of the ICDO.
The main goals and work tasks of this organization are:
- Representation of national active civil defense services at an international high level.
- Creation of structures for the effective protection of the living population in different countries.
- Development of special training programs designed for effective protection services.
- Taking part in the distribution of the humanitarian aid needed by the population.
- Exchange of various problematic issues between states.
Who is the founder of the international civil defense organization?
The direct founder of the organization in 1932 was the French general of the medical service Georges Saint-Paul, who created an association called the Geneva Zones, which later became the ICDO. Such zones meant neutral places where no hostilities took place. In such places women, small children and elderly people found shelter.
At the moment, the supreme body of the international civil defense organization is the General Assembly consisting of delegates from different states. It meets for sessions once every biennium, and, if necessary, announces the gathering for special sessions convened at the request of participating States. At each session held, a selection is made of the country in which the next collection will be held.
The charter of the international civil defense organization was approved back in 1966. It allowed the ICDO to become precisely an intergovernmental organization. Such an important document is actually an international convention and contains the main tasks of the Organization.
ICDO activities
One of the most important directions of the activities carried out by the ICDO has become the dissemination of the experience gained and acquired knowledge on the issues under consideration of civil defense and emergency situations. This organization is also engaged in the training of personnel in the existing areas, provides the technical assistance necessary for the organization and further improvement of various systems to prevent emergencies and ensure effective protection of the living population. Highly qualified specialists are trained in GO training centers located in Switzerland.
For the effective dissemination of the accumulated experience in civil defense, the main center for keeping records of the ICDO publishes a special magazine "Civil Protection", published in 4 languages. The documentary center and unique library of the ICDO contains a large number of documents, books and interesting magazines, including audio and video materials used.
Russia joined the international civil defense organization in 1993 and began to gain experience and essential knowledge in civil defense and emergency situations. In the future, our country plans to take a place in the leadership of the ICDO, which will give an opportunity to even more effectively participate in the activities of such an organization. Today, the organization and activities for the conduct of civil defense in the Russian Federation are directed by the Ministry of Emergency Situations, which operates in conjunction with the rest of the country's rescue services.
Rules for assigning various organizations to categories for civil defense
Organizations categorized by civil defense are as follows:
- Organizations with important defense as well as economic importance.
- Operating organizations with mobilization buildings.
- Potentially dangerous organizations in peacetime and the beginning of a military conflict.
- Organizations with unique cultural and historical sites.
For organizations, the following categories of civil defense can be established:
- especially important category;
- first category;
- second category.
The assignment of organizations to different categories for civil defense is carried out by the existing executive authorities, various state corporations and companies, Russian executive authorities in strict accordance with the indicators used, which are established by the Ministry of Emergencies of Russia by mandatory agreement with the announced institutions of interest.
The category for civil defense can be set for an organization according to the highest indicator of its separate subdivisions, regardless of its location.
Clarification of the list of organizations that belong to the categories of civil defense is carried out as necessary at least once every 5 years.
History of civil defense in Russia
In our country, the established history of an important civil defense system began in 1932. On that distant day, air defense was organized, which is an integral part of the current air defense system. In 1993, the government issued the following order: the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation should be represented in the ICDO of the Russian Federation, which is engaged in general effective management of civil defense and emergency situations and operates together with the rest of the rescue services in the country.
The main goal of mutually beneficial cooperation with the current ICDO was the comprehensive effective strengthening of civil defense capacities and effective protection of the living population to improve preparation for emergencies of different nature, humanitarian support to many countries that need the development of structures in the field of ensuring the protection of citizens. The result of the interaction was the introduction of the latest methods in the field of ensuring the effective protection of the residing population and vast territories from emergencies, the process of improving the developed methods and different standards used in the training of specialists for work in the rescue services, sharing the experience gained, and significantly strengthening cooperation in the field of early warning and elimination of ongoing disasters and large-scale disasters of a different nature.
In 2016, the Assembly signed a regulation on interaction in the field of information exchange between the Russian Emergencies Ministry and ICDO. At the same time, a number of important agreements have been reached regarding the development of further partnership, further general development of the planned initiative concerning the organization of an international network of special crisis centers.
In the implementation of such an initiative, a comprehensive high-quality modernization of the software used, installed in the ICDO monitoring and coordination center, was carried out. It includes the installation and further development of a unique geographic information system for performing analysis and effective modeling of potential emergency situations, including important data obtained using space monitoring.
As a result of the comprehensive measures taken, the MCMK ICDO has become a platform created to solve various problems in the fight against natural disasters. It is also monitoring, forecasting, modeling potential emergencies, providing advice for coordinating the most important management decisions based on the analysis of the data obtained.
The structure of civil defense at the enterprise
The head of the enterprise is responsible for the availability of forces and resources that will certainly be required in an emergency to save people or eliminate the consequences that have occurred. For more information on who is responsible for civil defense in the company, please follow the link.
A civil defense headquarters is necessarily organized with the appointment of a chief to manage the ongoing training, set up alerts, and develop upcoming plans. Employees are trained for GO under his leadership. He also keeps under control the plan of all upcoming events in different emergencies.
The organization of civil defense currently consists of the following tasks:
- Fire-fighting measures taken.
- Preparation of qualified employees for civil defense.
- Organization of a clear and fast evacuation.
- Development of an effective plan for the rapid implementation of competent actions in emergency situations.
The next article will consider in detail an example of an order for the organization of civil defense.
