Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

World

Migrants, Refugees, Asylum Seekers: Inclusion in Disaster Preparedness and Response

Attachments

Bertrand Pauver

John Twigg

Silvio Sagramola

INTRODUCTION

Migrants, asylum seekers and refugees constitute a significant and growing proportion of the general population of countries in Europe. When major incidents and disasters occur, they face the same hardship as other affected people, but they can suffer additionally from isolation, neglect or discrimination.

There is an indisputable moral and ethical case for an inclusive approach that guarantees migrants, asylum seekers and refugees equal rights with the rest of the population with regard to care and support in crises and throughout the disaster cycle. This may require some reorientation of the way that civil protection services are planned and delivered.

In emergency preparedness and contingency planning, the locations, needs and vulnerabilities of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees should be given consideration. Adequate resources, manpower and organisation to assist them should be put in place, at all levels from national to local. Civil protection actors should receive training in intercultural awareness and cultural sensitivity. Linguistically and culturally appropriate communication and public education programmes about risks, emergency procedures and services should be implemented.

Civil protection planning and emergency assistance should be co-ordinated and integrated with other specialist services that provide welfare and support to migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, such as healthcare institutions, social services and civil society. For better communication, mutual understanding and building trust, it is essential to involve migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, and the organisations that represent them, in counter-disaster programming. Migrants’ skills and coping capacities should also be recognised and utilised.

Countries in Europe and the Mediterranean area are working hard to improve their disaster preparedness and emergency management. However, little has been done to include migrants, asylum seekers,refugees and their organisations in relevant frameworks and practical programmes of action, and their views are rarely heard. Nevertheless, as this document shows, there are models and examples of good practice from Europe and around the world that could inspire improved practice and outcomes.

In conclusion, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, and the organisations that serve and represent them, need to be drawn into the civil protection and emergency management process. Preparing for disasters with them, and on their behalf, requires political commitment, national, regional and local coordination, strategic planning, networking, knowledge management, optimisation of resources and the development of good communication strategies. With this in view the Council of Europe, through the EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement and its memberstates, has developed these Guidelines and Recommendations.