ETHICS

Any major catastrophe is a brutal phenomenon, seldom predictable with any certainty, inducing tragic consequences for the victim populations. The sudden state of imbalance between urgent needs and the available emergency aid and communication resources makes action at the site of the disaster extremely difficult. The organisation of networks and services from one moment to the next calls for enhanced mobilisation of persons and systems. In any context of this kind, the notions of aid, solidarity and proximity take on their fullest significance.

Closest contact with the victim populations
The devastating consequences of a major disaster require coordination of relief actions which must be effective and efficient, both under immediate emergency conditions to set up initial relief, and in the longer term to provide assistance with reconstruction.

A humanitarian aid tool, Emergesat provides victim populations, as from the arrival of the first emergency aid teams, with the means of coordination and communication inevitably seriously lacking in the disaster zones. Emergesat restores human relations, making it possible to establish the links essential for support actions.
The task of Emergesat is also to supply direct aid for the populations involved. In particular, it provides services such as assistance with the search for victims, and drafting and distribution of situation reports.

While the notion of initial aid is extremely important in a disaster context, this aid must also stretch forward into the longer term. Provision of health care support for the victims following the crisis is essential. Emergesat provides assistance in this way after the initial, acute phase of the crisis. During the subsequent reconstruction period and while awaiting the availability of new infrastructures, it provides support services such as medical consultation and distance learning.

Pooling of resources and sharing of efforts
Emergesat provides assistance for all players involved in disaster management. Placed at the disposal of those responsible for organising aid, Emergesat slots into the line of command logic of the local authorities in the countries where it is deployed, assisting with coordination of the aid provided by the operational teams in the field, civil protection services and non-governmental organisations.

Emergesat works towards the harmonisation of practices and pooling of resources. It is in the process of developing operating methods adapted to national specificities in regard to line management, regulations, practices, culture and languages with the assistance of its users.

Emergesat is an open, user-definable system offering a range of configurations, pre-programmed but also adaptable to meet specific user needs. It provides standard interfaces which enable partners to deploy software, or provide access to services which enhance the quality of the aid delivered.

With the aim of establishing this crisis management aid approach in concrete form, Emergesat is seeking to promote an international charter facilitating implementation of the system and the pooling of resources, based on the model of the charter set up by the space agencies to make space data readily available in disaster situations.