Civil defense is a highly developed multi-faceted structure to protect not only from the dangers of wartime, but also from natural and man-made emergencies
In honor of the world civil defense day, the head of the Department of civil protection of the main Department of EMERCOM of Russia in the Republic of Tatarstan, Colonel Ildar Gibadullin explained the importance of this memorable date, announced the history of the international civil defense organization.
- World civil defence day is celebrated on 1 March. This holiday dates back to 1931, when French General Georges Saint-Paul founded the Association of Geneva zones. The very concept of the "Geneva zone" provided for the existence of neutral zones or so-called open cities in which the civilian population could find refuge in wartime. Subsequently, the Association of Geneva zones was transformed into the International civil defense organization, - said Ildar Gabidullin.
At present, in addition to Russia, 57 States are members of the ICDO: Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, CAR. China, Congo, côte d'ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, El Salvador, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho,
Liberia, Libya, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, Tunisia, UAE, Yemen, 16 countries - Belarus, Chile, Comoros, France, Malta, Mauritius, Portugal, Monaco, Rwanda, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe - have observer status in addition, 23 organizations are associate members.
The main structures of the ICDO are the General Assembly, the Executive Board, as well as the Permanent Secretariat providing administrative and technical support to the Organization.
The ICDO is headed by the Secretary-General, who is elected by the General Assembly for a six-year term. In the period from 2014 to 2018, the General Secretary of the ICDO was a citizen of Russia V. V. Kuvshinov. From October 2018, the acting Secretary-General of ICDO appointed Belkacem, Albatrossi. The next session of the General Assembly will be held in 2020.
Ongoing projects to promote international development under the auspices of the IOGO are being implemented in a number of CIS countries, the Middle East, Latin America and Europe.
One example of the implementation of ICDO projects in the Russian Federation is the provision of assistance in 2017 (supply of equipment and other humanitarian supplies) to the Volgograd region in connection with the difficult situation associated with the emergence and spread of large-scale wildfires.
One of the most important areas of cooperation with the ICDO is the development of the International monitoring and coordination center (IMCC). At present, the work of the center is steadily gaining momentum, it becomes one of the basic international centers that carry out automated collection, analysis and exchange of operational information on emerging large-scale disasters, monitoring and forecasting of emergency situations on the basis of the latest geoinformation technologies, as well as a single platform for the development of distance learning programs for specialists of crisis management of the IODO member States.