Authorised Users
The Authorised User for the UK & British Overseas Territories is the Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS)
Activation of the Charter is through Authorised Users (AU). Activation can be direct, via a sponsor or via the UN:
- Direct Activation: A request from an AU for a disaster occurring in their own country or territory.
Organisations authorized to directly request the services of the Charter are national public safety organisations (government relief organisations, civil protection agencies, national authorities with a mandate related to disaster management, etc) from the country of a Charter member. This is a pre-agreed list of 40+ user organisations that corresponds to 35 countries – the member states of the eleven members of the International Charter. - Sponsor AU Activation: A request from an AU on behalf of another country or territory where a disaster has occurred.
An AU can request the services of the Charter for a disaster located in another country with whom the AU is co-operating, i.e. a disaster response collaboration related to a specific emergency. - UN Activation: A request from the United Nations for disasters occurring in UN Countries.
The International Charter has established an arrangement with UN OOSA and UNITAR/UNOSAT granting them the ability to submit requests to activate the Charter on behalf of UN countries worldwide. In a case of major natural disaster in a country, the national authorities should officially contact the local or regional UNDP representative if they want to trigger the Charter through a UN organization.
All countries in the world can have access to the International Charter either via a sponsor AU or the UN but, in order to be more reactive in the case of a major disaster occurrence, it is recommended that countries anticipate and choose the most adequate access mode in advance, either by preparing a bilateral agreement with an AU.
Charter Activations per Activation Mode, 2000-2008  |
