Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja's statement on account of investigation report concerning the natural disaster in Asia
The Commission of Inquiry, appointed to investigate the natural catastrophe in Asia, chaired by President Martti Ahtisaari has published its report of inquiry today, 15, June. It is a thorough and objective report about the actions of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and other authorities in connection with the first global natural disaster of our times that has deeply touched and shaken also the Finns.
As the Commission of Inquiry points out, in its role as the acting authority the Ministry for Foreign Affairs held the primary responsibility for official action in order to help the Finnish victims of the tsunami. The divisions of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs' organization that held the direct operative responsibility, i.e. the embassies in Bangkok and New Delhi as well as the Unit for Consular Services and their staffs, took immediate action without sparing themselves. On the other hand, there were serious weaknesses in the systems of preparedness and leadership, collection and transfer of information, as well as in informing the public.
In practice, authorised by the Prime Minister, the meeting of the Coordination Board of Government Chiefs of Preparedness took responsibility for official action during the crisis. The Coordination Board of Government Chiefs of Preparedness became the key forum for exchange of information and all official cooperation for the duration of the crisis. From the Ministry for Foreign Affairs' point of view, the actions of the chiefs of preparedness and cooperation with other ministries and authorities - particularly the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, as well the Ministry of Transport and Communications - as well as with other key actors, including Finnair, travel organisers, and the Finnish Red Cross, went well during the crisis.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs assigned its Unit for Internal Inspection with a task to investigate and assess the actions of the Ministry during the crisis. The report published on 28 January essentially stated the same weaknesses and problems as the Commission of Inquiry report. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs had already taken several measures to remedy the weaknesses and improve the systems of preparedness and leadership, when the Ministry's own report was published. Accordingly, the Commission of Inquiry points out in its report that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has taken steps to eliminate the weaknesses.
Among the measures the Ministry has taken we can mention providing improved conditons for operating the crisis centre, establishment of consular rapid response teams, and development of preparedness organisation operations. The Ministry has just recently found sufficient room for the crisis centre in its premises at Merikasarmi, and a working group of civil servants is currently making arrangements for getting it technically equipped and operationally ready. However, further measures are still required in developing the Ministry's internal information and the principles guiding it.
As far as this ongoing work in the Ministry is concerned, the report of the Commission ofInquiry and its recommendations are a valuable addition. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs takes the recommendations made by the Commission seriously and intends to make sure for its own part that they are fully acknowledged and appropriately implemented.
An updated summary of the measures the Ministry has already taken, or is currently launching or planning to launch in order to remedy the weaknesses detected in connection with the tsunami disaster can be found as an attachment to this press release.
Additional information: Under Secretary of State Hannu Himanen, tel. +358 9 160 55020, Head of Unit for Consular Services Pekka Hyvönen, tel. +358 9 160 55739, and Director General Yrjö Länsipuro, Department for Public Communication, Media and Culture, tel. +358 40 754 4448
General Administration Unit
15 June, 2005
Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the natural disaster in asia: summary of measures taken
In connection with the natural disaster in Asia certain weaknesses and problems were detected in the way the Finnish Foreign Service operated, and measures were taken to remedy these immediately after the operative phase of the crisis was over. The Internal Inspection Unit of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs drafted an internal review concerning the actions of the Finnish Foreign Service in different phases of the crisis in South East Asia, published on 28 January. In the end of May the Ministry gave a statement about the measures proposed by the Commission of Inquiry, and they can be found attached to the Commission report. This memorandum summarises the most important measures the Ministry has taken so far.
Crisis centre
The decision in principle concerning assignment of premises for a crisis centre with essentially better equipment than before was made in the beginning of June. A working group of civil servants continues the work aiming at ensuring technical and operational preparedness of the centre. When developing its own crisis centre the MFA isworking in close cooperation with the Government Chiefs of Preparedness organization and especially with the search and rescue services (Ministry of the Interior) and medical experts.
Emergency phone number 0800 0 4444
Telephone technology has been updated and the capacity to accept and hold calls in case of emergency has been increased. In addition, the possibility to use the emergency telephone resources of other authorities in case of sudden crisis will be investigated. The Ministry will have at its disposal a personal information database, which can be issued to other authorities, if necessary.
Crisis communication
The Department for Public Communication, Media and Culture's emergency system for crisis situations has been renewed and the standby personnel has been provided with necessary instructions and training. The Ministry webpages (formin.finland.fi) have been equipped with a service to be activated in case of a crisis. It contains web-operated forms for filing or canceling missing person reports. This will help ease the pressure on the telephone service. Discussions have been conducted with representatives of the key medias (e.g. the Finnish News Agency) about the course of action through which the parties could establish a common picture of the situation.
Finnish Diplomatic Missions Abroad
Guidelines given to the Finnish Diplomatic Missions Abroad as well as training of their staffs have been made more efficient. The missions update their preparedness and evacuation plans on a regular basis and are under an obligation to secure a 24-hour phone coverage. The missions will outline bulletins related to traveling safety for Finnish tourists, to be published on the webpages of the Ministry. By late autumn the Ministry is scheduled to have reviewed the areas of focus in its network of missions abroad and completed a critical evaluation of the resources of the missions located in the most crisis-prone areas. Also the meaning of changes in tourist flows will be taken into consideration in the planning process.
Consular rapid response teams
The Ministry has established rapid response teams consisting of 3-5 experts of consular affairs, which are ready for deployment to crisis areas within a few hours. They are a means of supporting the missions abroad in case of a crisis. The consular rapid response teams work in cooperation with similar groups established by other authorities and cooperation partners.
Cooperation with interest groups
In addition to the Coordination Board of Government Chiefs of Preparedness, MFA's other partners include the search and rescue services (Ministry of the Interior), Central Criminal Police, Finnish Red Cross, Advisory Board of Traveling Safety (travel organisers, insurance agencies) and other actors. With the travel organizers the Ministry has agreed to improve exchange of information concerning the flow of tourists as well as identity information. The Finnish missions abroad operating in the tourist resorts act as the common point of contact for all travel organisers.
System of preparedness
The renewed MFA preparedness group was appointed and it launched its operation in February. It answers for preparedness for crises and for the whole organisation's efficient participation in preparedness exercises of state administration. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will enhance its cooperation with other authorities also by practicing for crisis situations also separately. The Finnish missions abroad will practice crisis operations also with other Nordic Countries, the EU states and local authorities as necessary and when possible.
Early warning systems
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has been closely cooperating with other authorities in order to develop a national early warning system for natural disasters and other unexpected situations. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has also been involved in improving international cooperation aiming at creating early warning systems. The goal is to establish a tsunami warning system for the region of the Indian Ocean, by the side of the already existing early warning system for the Pacific region.
EU cooperation and common administration of external relations
The consular EU cooperation works well in isolated consular cases. Finnish citizens can receive consular protection outside the EU from the foreign mission of any other EU member state, provided that there is no Finnish embassy in the country. As a result of the natural disaster in Asia the EU countries have intensified their crisis cooperation. They exchange information about their crisis preparedness and plans, and, if possible, outline joint evacuation plans. It is hoped that the common administration of external relations would increase joint use of resources in case of crises.
Nordic cooperation
The lessons learned from the natural disaster in Asia have been handled on many occasions in Nordic cooperation at different levels. The Nordic foreign ministers have discussed the matter during spring. Civil servants have drafted a proposal about common measures aimed at heightening preparedness, and about local-level cooperation between the Nordic missions abroad. The matter is supposed to be on the agenda of the Nordic Foreign Minister Meeting in Bornholm, Denmark in August. The Nordic and EU crisis cooperation complement each other. Cooperation is carried out at the local level to the extent it creates added value when developing crisis preparedness.