Mobile phones are an effective comfort blanket for many people. The knowledge that help and support is just a phone call away no matter where you are is incredibly reassuring. Help and support is not limited to the owner of the phone, of course. Calling for help on behalf of others involved in accidents or requiring assistance is now a frequent occurrence. Few people think twice about helping others in this way. The combination of mobile communications and our willingness to help others is a powerful force improving the safety of individuals and society.
The desire to help people afflicted by misfortune is not restricted to our immediate surroundings. Victims of earthquakes elicit our sympathy, as do civilian refugees fleeing the ravages of war. Whether disasters are natural or manmade, the natural humanitarian response is to provide help and support.
Telecommunications is an essential component of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Communications is the glue that holds support operations together. Communications allows the co-ordination of relief efforts and provides contact with the outside world when it is most needed. Rapid restoration or provision of communications facilities is one of the highest priorities when disaster strikes.
The communications industry is well prepared for such challenges. The technical and logistical capabilities to provide emergency communications are well developed. Wireless technologies play an important role in the provision of communications capability to support the victims of disaster. The communications industry should feel proud.
That’s the theory. The reality is somewhat different. The reality is that the communications industry should feel ashamed.
The technical and logistical capabilities may exist, but all too often they are not effectively deployed. Emergency communications equipment is often impounded at national borders because of import or export restrictions. It is frequently subjected to heavy customs duties and lengthy clearance procedures. Local regulations or licensing requirements can make equipment unusable. Operating personnel can be refused entry into disaster zones. The desire to help is frustrated by administrative and regulatory barriers.
But those barriers can be overcome. All that is required is the creation of an agreed framework followed by the political will to implement that framework. The political will clearly exists in the commercial arena. GSM users happily roam the world and use their handsets without let or hindrance. But in the noncommercial world of humanitarian assistance, it is a different story.
An agreed framework for the provision of telecommunications resources for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief does exist. It’s called the Tampere Convention, and it finally became reality in 1998 after nearly a decade of intensive effort involving both governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Widespread implementation of the Tampere Convention will allow the communications industry to realize its potential to save lives and alleviate suffering in the aftermath of disasters.
But the Tampere Convention has not been widely implemented. In fact, it has not been implemented at all. To be fair, that is not entirely the fault of the telecommunications industry. A government telecommunications minister can sign the convention, but the minister of foreign affairs, head of government or head of state must then ratify it. The convention comes into force once it has been ratified by 30 states.
Two years after the Tampere Convention, there were just 48 signatories. Of these, only six had been ratified. Political will is manifestly lacking.
The problem does not seem to be with the convention itself. Great care has been taken to ensure that national laws are respected and governments should not be threatened in any way by its adoption. The problem seems to be apathy. Saving lives and mitigating the effects of disasters are apparently a low priority for the majority of governments.
It is also apparently a low priority for the communications industry. Discussions about the role of telecommunications in disaster mitigation and relief operations attract little interest and receive minimal support. That is a cause for shame. Unless the communications industry exerts pressure, nothing will happen. What is your government doing about it? What are you doing about it?
