« A strengthened Civil Protection system for better managing emergencies and serving the population of democratic Tunisia » will be the main subject of the two-day workshop organised by the EU funded Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation Programme on Civil Protection and the Tunisian Civil Protection Department next 23 – 24 November 2011 in Tunis. The workshop will be attended by representatives of all Tunisian Ministries involved in emergency management as well as of non-governmental organisations assisting the population in case of crisis. Delegates of the EU Member States will also participate together with officers of international organisations assisting Tunisia in the reinforcement of national capacities for emergency preparedness and response.

The Tunis workshop, the first PPRD South national event gathering all civil protection actors to discuss available options for the development of national crisis management capacities, will be opened by H.E. Habib Essid, Tunisian Ministry of the Interior, and H.E. Adrianus Koetsenruijter, Head of the EU Delegation in Tunisia. Mr. Peter Billing, Head of the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and Mr. Pierluigi Soddu, Executive Director of the PPRD South Programme will highlight the aim of the initiative and confirm the EU support to Tunisia during this transition process to democracy.

The first session of the event will focus on the review and the analysis of the recent Libyan refugee crisis in which all the workshop participants played an important role and directly witnessed the national response to the complex emergency as well as that of the international assistance. Their experiences will be illustrated and lessons learned highlighted with suggestions proposed on how to better benefit from them.

Three thematic working groups will discuss and identify a set of recommendations for reinforcing the Tunisian civil protection system in the framework of the ongoing reform process of the civil security sector for a democratic Tunisia. The three groups will address respectively the set up and management of a national network of civil protection volunteers, the inter-ministerial coordination mechanism in case of crisis and the coordination of international assistance.

From 18th February 2011 up to date, the Tunisian Civil Protection has been on the forefront of the humanitarian crisis caused by the massive flow of refugees seeking shelter and protection from the conflict in Libya. This long crisis posed unprecedented challenges to the Tunisian civil protection system, either in terms of organisational capacity or in terms of human resources and operational equipment. The arrival of more than 350.000 refugees demanding shelter, water and food, medical treatments, repatriation assistance or a new homeland, required an enormous mobilisation effort by the Tunisian civil protection system. In this situation, the results achieved by the Civil Protection and the Ministry of Defence together with the other national institutions and organisations, the international community and the spontaneous support by the local population are to be considered outstanding. To date around 3600 refugees still live in the Choucha camp near the Libya-Tunisia border waiting for a solution to their situation that for most of them can only be a new homeland.

Download the press release in English, French and Arabic

The recommendations issued from the national workshop organized in Tunis last 23-24 November by the PPRD South and the Tunisian Civil Protection set out a coherent roadmap for improving the coordination among national and international players during major crisis affecting Mediterranean countries. Although prepared with reference to the Tunisian crisis management context, PPRD South considers that these recommendations might be helpful for most of the countries of the Mediterranean region.

The workshop, designed to discuss the role of the Civil Protection in the Tunisian crisis management system and to draw lessons learned from the recent Libyan refugee crisis, gathered representatives of Ministries and other public institutions, of civil society and international organizations which participated to the management of the humanitarian emergency. Following a first plenary session, participants joined three thematic working groups dedicated to specific subjects: coordination of international assistance, inter-ministerial cooperation mechanisms and the proposal of setting up a national network of civil protection volunteers.

Concerning the coordination of international assistance, participants underlined the importance of having the Civil Protection as unique national focal point during crisis/disasters for need assessment, mobilization of international assistance, reception of international teams and material and coordination with other national crisis management players. The working group on inter-ministerial cooperation proposed establishing a national permanent multi-sectoral body, coordinated by the Civil Protection and in charge of prevention, preparedness and management of disasters and crisis. Participants to the working group on civil protection volunteers pointed out the necessary stages and principles for setting up, training, organizing and managing a functional network of volunteers well integrated with the structures of the national Civil Protection.

The document « Analysis and recommandations on how to improve crisis management in Tunisia » - in French – provides a comprehensive summary of the discussions which took place during the working groups.

The documentation distributed and the presentations made during the event are available below – in French.

PPRD South Programme, M. Pierluigi Soddu, PPRD South Executive Director

The role of the Tunisian Civil protection in the Libyan refugees crisis, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Col. Gofrane Wartani, Director for Prevention, Tunisian Civil Protection

Logistical aspects, Tunisian Ministry of Defense

Medical services, Tunisian Ministry of Defense

International organisations: United Nations High Commissionner for Refugees
M. Nasir Fernandes, Head of Zarzis Office, UNHCR

International Organisations: International Organisation for Migration, M. Francesco Lembo et Francesco Carella, Technical Cooperation Officers, IOM

International Organisations: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
M. Mahfoud Bessah, Coordinator of Community Programmes for North Africa, IFRC

EU Civil Protection Mechanism, M. Peter Billing, Head of Unit Crisis Response, DG ECHO, European Commission

Organizational models for crisis management: Tunisia, Col. Moez Dachraoui

Organizational models for crisis management: France, M. Ronan de Saint Germain

Organizational models for crisis management: Italy M. Paolo Vaccari

Agenda

Workshop description

List of participants

Press release in French

Press release in Arabic

Press review

The World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean produced the WHO e-Atlas of disaster risk for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Volume 1: Exposure to natural hazards. The e-Atlas uses geographic information systems and various disaster models to assist disaster management decision-makers to reduce health risks to vulnerable populations due to emergencies and health crises. This tool can be used to help predict the magnitude of a disaster on a specific population, to assess where damage might be the greatest and to forecast specific resources which may be required.

For Tunisia, the e-Atlas contains a set of maps and supporting documents explaining methodology and providing metadata that illustrate the distribution of natural hazards (earthquakes, floods, heat, wind, and landslides), as well as estimates of the sizes of populations exposed to such hazards.

WHO e-Atlas of disaster risk for the Eastern Mediterranean Region

in order to prevent a repetition of the devastating floods which occurred in September 2003, a Tunisian-Japanese project for flood protection in the zone of West Tunis was recently launched.

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