Guidelines On: The Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets In Disaster Relief - "Oslo Guidelines"
The "Oslo Guidelines" were originally
prepared over a period of two years beginning in 1992. They were the result
of a collaborative effort that culminated in an international conference
in Oslo, Norway, in January 1994 and were released in May 1994. The following
States and Organizations were involved in this effort:
Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Germany,
Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, the Netherlands, Norway, Russian Federation,
Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United
States of America, AFDRU, Brown University's Watson Institute, DHA, European
Union/ECHO, ICDO, ICRC, IFRC, INSARAG, NATO, Steering Committee for Humanitarian
Response, UNHCR, UN Legal Liaison Office, University of Naples, University
of Ruhr, WHO and Western European Union. Over 180 delegates from 45 States
and 25 organizations attended the conference.
The unprecedented deployment in 2005
of military forces and assets in support of humanitarian response to natural
disasters, following an increasing trend over the past years, confirmed
the need to update the 1994 "Oslo Guidelines". The Consultative
Group on the Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets (MCDA), at its annual
meeting in December 2005, tasked OCHA's Civil-Military Coordination Section
(CMCS) with this facelift, to reflect current terminology and organizational
changes, following a layout similar to the 2003 "Guidelines on the
Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets to Support United Nations Humanitarian
Activities in Complex Emergencies" ("MCDA Guidelines").
The Oslo Guidelines were re-launched
at an event hosted by the Government of Norway, in Oslo, on 27 November
2006, held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Consultative Group
on the Use of MCDA. Norway, Switzerland and Sweden took the lead in the
update, facilitated by OCHA's Civil-Military Coordination Section / Emergency
Services Branch.
Changes in this Revision 1.1 concern
the addition of the word "foreign" in the title, as well as additions
for clarification to paragraph 5, as per consensus in the Extraordinary
Session of the Consultative Group on the Use of MCDA, on 28 November 2007.