26 Apr 2005

Civil emergency officials agree anti-terrorist measures Opinions 25/04/05 - NATO Opening remarks by Adam Kobieracki, Assistant Secretary General for Operations at the Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee meeting in plenary session in EAPC format 25/04/05 - NATO Statement by Mr Erkki Tuomioja, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland at the Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee meeting in plenary session in EAPC format 25/04/05 - NATO Remarks by State Secretary of Finland Kari Salmi at the Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee meeting in plenary session in EAPC format Background Civil emergency planning Heads of civil protection and civil emergency planning organisations from NATO and partner countries agreed on 26 April on a joint plan for improving civil preparedness against terrorist attacks. The plenary meeting of NATO’s Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee in Helsinki on 25 and 26 April also considered how to ensure effective civilian support to military crisis response operations, such as NATO’s ongoing operation to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan. Protecting populations At the meeting, top civil emergency planning officials from the 46 NATO and partner countries discussed and agreed on an Updated Action Plan for the Improvement of Civil Preparedness for possible terrorist attacks with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons. This plan encompasses a host of measures to improve the preparedness of individual countries and of NATO as a whole to respond rapidly and effectively to the consequences of terrorist attacks with these weapons. Some of the specific issues discussed include better disaster response coordination, the protection of critical infrastructure, such as energy and water supplies, and support to victims of a potential attack. The Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee is the senior advisory body to the North Atlantic Council on matters concerning protection of the civilian population and the use of civil resources in support of Alliance objectives. It meets several times a month in permanent session with representatives from Allied and partner delegations at NATO Headquarters and twice a year in plenary session with Heads of civil protection and civil emergency planning organisations from capitals.