Though very much a domestic responsibility, civil emergency planning can benefit from the resources and assets that collective security structures such as NATO can provide.
Key Questions:
- 1. Does Serbia’s civil emergency planning adequately contend with the plethora of new and emerging security threats?
- 2. How can Serbia improve its civil emergency planning processes and capabilities?
- 3. How can NATO enhance the civil emergency planning processes capabilities of non-NATO member states?
- 4. How, and in which specific areas, can NATO complement Serbia’s civil emergency planning?
Background
Faced with the unpredictable threats posed by both natural or man-made crisis and disasters, including terrorism and the use of weapons of mass destruction, each country must engage in some form of civil emergency planning. Though a national responsibility, however, such planning can benefit in a number of ways from the broader contribution of collective security structures, such as NATO and the UN. Large-scale emergencies, for instance, can not be dealt with through purely national solutions; but instead require access to a range of civilian and military assets, including, for example, resources to decontaminate toxic or industrial chemicals and to contend with biological, radiological and nuclear material.
To ensure that countries are fully prepared to contend with civil emergencies, NATO provides assistance to develop and maintain arrangements for the effective use of civil and military resources. The aim of civil emergency planning within NATO is, therefore, to “collect, analyse and share information on national planning activity to ensure the most effective use of civil resources for use during emergency situations”. NATO has a group of experts who cover civil aspects relevant to NATO planning and operations including crisis management, consequence management and critical infrastructure. NATO’s new Strategic Concept, however, must explore in greater depth how to strengthen the civil emergency planning capabilities beyond its member states.
Further Reading:
- Civil Emergency Planning
- NATO’s Role in Civil Emergency Planning (pdf) – The main role of Civil Emergency Planning in NATO is to collect, analyse and share information on national planning activity to ensure the most effective use of civil resources for use during emergency situations. It explains how Allies and Partner nations assist each other in preparing for and dealing with the consequences of crisis, disaster or conflict.
- The Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre
- The Disposal of Albania’s Anti-personnel Mine Stockpiles (pdf) – This publication illustrates NATO’s programme to help Albania meet the demands and challenges of its ammunition-related problems – Pdf | html
- Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defence Battalion
- Minimum Standards and Non-Binding Guidelines for First Responders Regarding Planning, Training, Procedure and Equipment for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Incidents – International CBRN Training Curriculum (pdf)
- Minimum Standards and Non-Binding Guidelines for First Responders Regarding Planning, Training, Procedure and Equipment for CBRN Incidents – Modalities for the Advisory Support Team (pdf) – A tool designed to assist national authorities or international organisations in preparing for a response to natural and technological disasters.
- Minimum Standards and Non-Binding Guidelines for First Responders Regarding Planning, Training, Procedure and Equipment for CBRN Incidents – Guidelines for First Response to a CBRN Incident (pdf)
- Earthquake-induced Disasters: Limiting the Damage (pdf) – This publication describes the initiative launched by NATO to help earthquake stricken countries through preventive measures and disaster response assistance – Pdf | Html
If you are interested in participating in this project, please contact TransConflict Serbia at the following e-mail address – office@transconflict.com
The ‘Facilitating Serbia’s Contribution to NATO’s New Strategic Concept’ project has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.
