Australian Civil-Military Cooperation for Pacific Disaster Response

NZ CID 2012 Annual Civil Military Forum –Coordination of DR in the Pacific, 7 June 2012

byBonita MaywaldManager, Disaster Management & MitigationAusAID Secondee at Australian Civil-Military Centre

Scope of Presentation• Australian Civil-Military Centre - Mandate

• Guidelines for Joint Effective Responses

• Ongoing FRANZ Arrangement

• Support for Community Resilience

• Civil Views of Military HA/DR

• Future Civ-Mil Directions in the region

From Nov 2008 the Australian Civil-Military Centre has supported development of national civil-military capabilities to prevent, prepare for & respond more effectively to disaster & conflict management overseas. The Centre works with government & non-government stakeholders to:

Develop Civ-Mil concepts, frameworks, guidelines;

Identify and fill gaps in Research and Lessons;

Support networks and training programs ; and

Improve national and regional Civ-Mil capability.

Example - The Centre has just jointly published with ACFID:

Same Space - Different Mandates: A Civil-Military Guide to Australian Stakeholders in International Disaster and Conflict Response, ACMC 2012

Guidelines - Effective Joint Responses

ACMC has identified guiding principles for effective Civil-Military engagements for conflict and disaster management based on trust and mutual respect:

• Use collaborative and flexible approaches - each crisis will be different, requiring different solutions shaped by local community needs.

• Build on organisational and cultural diversity, to develop and integrate

civil-military capabilities.

• Strengthen multiagency engagement, joint efforts, shared understandings.

• Deliver comprehensive outcomes relevant to complex situations.

• Aim for continuous improvement; share civ-mil lessons across agencies.

Ref: Strengthening Australia’s Conflict and Disaster Management Overseas, 2010

Tools for Joint EffectivenessExisting standby arrangements can be critical for effective & rapid DR:

• Warehousing of relief supplies

• Deployment arrangements eg with UN, IOs, Regional & National Disaster Management Orgs

• Joint contingency planning: increase interoperability and learning from simulation exercises

Codes of Conduct: eg Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Code of Conduct

and the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and

Non-Governmental Organizations in Disaster Relief

International Law: Humanitarian Law, Human Rights Law, Refugee Law, International Disaster Response Law

Guidelines on the Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets to Support DR eg Oslo Guidelines; and draft APC-MADRO guidelines (under leadership of UN OCHA, part-funded by AusAID)

The Sphere Handbook – Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response. The 2011 edition integrates emerging issues including civil-military relations, Disaster Risk Reduction, and a stronger focus on protection of civilians.

Asia Pacific Conferences on Military Assistance to Disaster Relief Operations (APC-MADRO) led by OCHA part-funded by AusAID: Draft Guidelines include that the assisting state should -- deploy only with consent of the affected state- respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity, culture and sensitivities of the

affected state- provide international DR according to the core humanitarian principles of

humanity, neutrality and impartiality- abide by the principle of “Do No Harm’ - coordinate DR operations with affected state authorities in accordance with

the national disaster plan- abide by domestic laws of the affected state and applicable international

law, or as agreed in a status of forces agreement- provide DR without seeking to gain financial advantage, further or intervene in political matters….

Australia’s Overseas DR MechanismsIt all depends on the scale/nature of the disaster/request whether it involves

Prime Ministerial decision

Cabinet or National Security Committee

Advice to PM/NSC from relevant Govt Depts

Inter-Deptl Emergency Task Force (IDC or IDETF)

AusAID lead on DR in developing country responses

NB: Only 1 in 4 of Australia’s overseas DR operations involve Military assets/HR.

Humanitarian Action Policy: AusAID -

• takes a principled and pragmatic approach to civ-mil interaction.

• civ-mil interaction is always civilian led and only uses military assets when they are the best option for the situation.

• responds to Humanitarian emergencies to save lives and support rapid recovery and community resilience.

Landscape in the Pacific• Since 1950 natural disasters have affected

more than 3.4 million people and caused 1,747 fatalities in the Pacific (excluding PNG).

• The cost of disasters is increasing with some Pacific Island countries averaging economic losses of 2-7% of GDP (UNDP).

Ongoing FRANZ ArrangementFRANZ (from Dec 1992) commits partners to exchange information & best

use of their defence assets.• Australia as current Chair (Nov 2011-Nov 2013) will hold a DR exercise

to test FRANZ mechanisms, interoperability & communications.

FRANZ activations since 2009 include:

Vanuatu - Tropical Cyclone Jasmine, January 2012

Fiji - Floods, January & March 2012

Fiji -TC Tomas, March 2010

Vanuatu - TC Atu, February 2010

Vanuatu - TC Vania, January 2010

Samoa & Tonga - Tsunami, September 2009

Community Resilience:= able to increase chances of survival through collaborative local

decisions

= capacity to cope in an emergency, to rebuild & change, to be better adapted to the environment.

Why the links: Between Development, Civ-Mil issues and Resilience? • Crisis events (Disaster &/or Conflict) can undermine social-economic

devt gains and Do No Harm approaches to strengthen community.• The majority of disaster-related deaths and illnesses occur in

developing countries.• Major disaster impacts can require urgent, heavy lift capabilites (ie Mil)• Many disasters occur in conflict-affected countries with high rates of

poverty (so we need to think carefully about how we manage joint Civil-Military efforts in these complex situations).

Pacific Lessons on Community Resilience From Samoa and Tonga:

• Hit by an 8.3M earthquake and tsunami on 29 Sept 2009. This affected lives (144 killed in Samoa), homes, communities, business and beachfronts

- 9 killed on Niuatoputapu; island infrastructure destroyed.

• Australia, New Zealand and France coordinated assistance efforts via the FRANZ Arrangement, under Samoa and Tonga leadership and direction.

• Samoa and Tonga’s resilience were evident throughout the crisis.

• Their government priorities were to rebuild (asap in Samoa, to be open for business) and support essential services - especially roads, water, power, health services & schools.

Civil Agency views of Military “Humanitarian” Assistance in DR

Positive Views: Negative Views:

• Military can bring needed logistics Concern over politicisation /militarisation

• Military can add heavy lift / “manpower” Military may lack expertise in sustainable DR

• Military can fill urgent HA/DR gaps Lack of sustainable exit / transition options

• Military can provide needed security Military HA/DR can blur boundaries, add risk

• Military can help coordinate response Military footprint may “take over” operations

• Military understand Aid is not their core Concerns about Aid with Military face/uniform

Our aim at ACMC, then, is to support collaboration, share information and develop understanding across Civ-Mil actors – including through secondments from Government and NGO agencies.

Future Civil-Military Directions? Increase resourcing & effectiveness of national disaster management

organisations including on Preparedness, DRR & at Civ-Mil interface? Research identified DR gaps and Lessons on Civ-Mil coordination –

including on urban communities (post-Haiti lessons)? Focus more on South to South training and sharing of effective

approaches for small island states? Credibly link existing regional networks with Civ-Mil coordination? Develop institutional processes & frameworks for Civ-Mil joint efforts

(avoid ad hoc / personal-based arrangements)? Increase interoperability – including through more joint training; ensure

non-Mil / NGO perspectives inform joint exercises? Expect more regional DR cooperation & more global interest in PAC? Invest in Civ-Mil Coordination & capacity within the region (OCHA-led)?

Australia and Disaster Risk Management in the Pacific (Source: AusAID)Australia responds to disasters in the Pacific:• in 2011-12 $4.14 million for emergency relief supplies for families affected by floods in Fiji

and $1.3 million in response to a water security emergency in Tuvalu.• between 2009 and 2010, $20 million in humanitarian relief and recovery in response to

disasters in Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.

And assists Pacific countries and communities to better prepare for disasters and reduce their risk through:

• a new, four year disaster risk management program, initially targeting four countries (Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga), commencing later in 2012

• ongoing support to Pacific National Red Cross Societies under the broader AusAID-Australian Red Cross Partnership Agreement

• core funding to regional bodies like the Secretariat for the Pacific Community (SPC) to assist Pacific countries with technical assistance and policy advice on disaster risk management issues.