13th Congress Plenary Session 30 May-1st June 2006

Chernobyl, 20 years on: Local and Regional Authorities dealing with disasters

Rapporteurs:
Gaye Doganoglu, Turkey
Chamber of Local Authorities
Political Group: EPP/CD
and
Wim Van Gelder, Netherlands
Chamber of Regions
Political Group: EPP/CD

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 3

“Chernobyl, 20 years on: Local and regional authorities in dealing with disasters” 3

The Slavutych Appeal 4

Appendix 1 The Slavutych Appeal 5

Appendix 2 Programme of the Conference 7

Introduction

Twenty years ago, the terrible tragedy at Chernobyl nuclear power station shook the world and Europe in particular. The accident at Chernobyl in 1986 was the worst in the history of the world nuclear industry and a major radiological accident.

The areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia affected by the disaster are still suffering the consequences today: radioactivity, health problems and social and economic difficulties, along with the serious psychological problems affecting the local community and the staff of the emergency services.

The consequences of the Chernobyl disaster twenty years ago have long been a subject of speculation and the issue is of actual relevance. The accident is still a source of grave concern despite the amount of information provided by international organisations, national authorities and the scientific community.

Chernobyl has also changed our way of looking at nuclear hazards. The way the disaster was managed and the lack of information immediately after the disaster have given rise to feelings of mistrust regarding the nuclear industry.

Nonetheless, the experience of Chernobyl has resulted in many improvements in plans for emergency action and protection against radiation and arrangements for the dissemination of information and co-operation between states.

Not only has this disaster made nuclear safety one of the main concerns of the national authorities, international organisations - and the general public- but it has also increased the number of people who are expected to be involved in this field formerly reserved for governments.

It was the Congress’s desire to continue with the work that it has been doing for a number of years now in the area of major hazards. It thanks Mr Volodymyr Udovychenko, Mayor of the City of Slavutych, for proposing, on this 20^th anniversary, to think together about the role of local and regional authorities in the response to disasters and in risk management and to hold in his city a international conference on “Chernobyl, 20 years on: local and regional authorities dealing with disasters”.

“Chernobyl, 20 years on: local and regional authorities dealing with disasters”

This international conference was attended by local and regional elected representatives, members of national parliaments, representatives of the Ukrainian government and international organisations, and specialists and university teachers in the subjects concerned.

The participants discussed current nuclear safety problems, risk management and the now generally acknowledged role of local and regional authorities in these areas. The proceedings were divided into four round table sessions on the following topics:

· The management of the impact on health, the environment and the socio-economic situation, 20 years on;
· Moving towards recovery and development: the role of local and regional authorities in the management of disasters;
· Co-ordinating the various stakeholders in the management of disaster: the example of Chernobyl;
· A future strategy for the management of major hazards: attempting to reduce the vulnerability of sites.

Twenty years on, the political situation is different and the nuclear technology is safer but the lessons of Chernobyl are just as valid.

Chernobyl has reminded us that while the nuclear industry is the responsibility of central governments, it is important for local and regional authorities to be fully informed about the management of sites because they are the bodies that have important responsibilities in the case of incidents and disasters and must react quickly to evacuate inhabitants, provide medical assistance, organise accommodation and ensure public safety.

Chernobyl was also a reminder that the consequences of disasters on this kind of scale, whether natural or technological, cross borders, and affect regions, countries and sometimes even continents. The prevention and management of such situations requires a shared responsibility and transfrontier co-operation.

It was discussed that this co-operation would greatly benefit from the exchange of knowledge and experiences in specific areas of disaster management, such as risk- and crisis communication, information systems and evacuation programmes, which were or are being developed in European interregional programmes such as ESCAPE, AWARE and Chain of Safety. This knowledge is requisite and widely applicable in different disaster scenario's.

It is also accepted now that the decision-making process on questions concerning nuclear energy must be as transparent as possible and involve large sections of society, not just national governments but also local and regional authorities and non-governmental organisations.

Another issue that was highlighted by the Chernobyl disaster is the public’s right to information, particularly through their local and regional elected representatives who must have full access to the relevant data on the functioning of sites and of the possible consequences of accidents which may occur in nuclear power stations.

Lastly, there is now a need to get local and regional authorities involved in decisions on the installing nuclear power stations, in consequence of the will of the public to be associated.

The Slavutych Appeal

At the end of two days of debate, the participants in the International Conference “Chernobyl twenty years on” adopted the Slavutych Appeal and requested the Congress to forward it to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

In this appeal the participants set five basic principles, which they refer to as “the Slavutych Principles” to serve as guidelines for the public authorities in areas relating to nuclear safety.

APPENDIX 1

The Slavutych Appeal

Launched by the International Conference
“Chernobyl, 20 years on:
local and regional authorities dealing with disasters”
Slavutych (Ukraine), 2– 4 March 2006

We,

The participants in the International Conference “Chernobyl, 20 years on: local and regional authorities dealing with disasters”, local and regional elected representatives, parliamentarians and representatives of governments, international and non-governmental organisations and experts,

Meeting in Slavutych on the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster,

Resolve to adopt an appeal, which will be forwarded to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and to other interested organisations.

Here in Slavutych, some fifty kilometres from Chernobyl and 20 years after the worst technological disaster in the history of humankind, we feel the need to solemnly reassert five basic principles, which we will henceforth refer to as “the Slavutych Principles” and which should serve as guidelines for the public authorities in areas relating to nuclear safety.

We hope that the Congress will draw on the appeal we are adopting as a basis for its work and that it will agree that it should be the subject of a recommendation to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

The “Slavutych Principles”:

1. The central role of governments

Owing to the complex and the dangerous processes involved, the nuclear industry is, by nature, a government responsibility, particularly where major energy technology problems, the location of nuclear power stations and safety issues are concerned.

Governments cannot delegate their key responsibilities in this area. Global management of nuclear safety on a world scale cannot be envisaged unless nuclear safety is already co-ordinated by the national authorities in conjunction with the international community. Moreover, only national authorities can raise the resources required for essential education and scientific research, which are the first steps that should be taken in any long-term prevention policy.

2. The essential role of local and regional authorities

Local and regional authorities, which occupy a frontline position and most closely represent the populations directly concerned, have a decisive role to play in conjunction with central government in involving citizens and protecting local communities.

3. Neighbourhood solidarity

The Chernobyl disaster has become the symbol of the fact that nuclear accidents know no local, national or international borders.

Nuclear safety cannot therefore be limited by national political and administrative constraints. It requires genuine neighbourhood solidarity and cross-border co-operation which makes all the territories concerned, irrespective of the state to which they belong, equal partners.

4. Transparency and information

There must be broad, ongoing access to information. International organisations, governments, nuclear operators and station managers have a duty to provide honest and detailed information to the populations of the territories concerned, neighbouring populations and the international community. This obligation must apply both in normal times and in times of crisis.

5. Involvement and consultation of the populations concerned

The populations directly concerned must be involved and consulted, in accordance with each country’s own procedures and including all forms of direct consultation, both at national level, with regard to major technological choices and in particular the choice of nuclear energy, and at local level, with regard to sites, the safety measures taken and the closing down of sites.

This involvement is necessary to establish a safety culture, which is the only effective shield against these massive risks and an essential prerequisite for the implementation of global safety plans.

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It is also important that local and regional authorities which have already experienced or been confronted with the risk of a disaster should be able to share that experience. They therefore call on the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the Committee of the Regions of the European Union to give the necessary priority to these problems in their work. The “European Forum on Local and Regional Disaster Management”, which was launched during the Slavutych Conference, can play an important role in this respect.

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The Conference wishes not only to assert the “Slavutych Principles” but also to pay tribute to the Ukrainian government and the local and regional authorities of this country, which for the past twenty years have been coping with the tragic consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. We also welcome the fact that the international community has made considerable efforts to help the countries affected by the disaster.

We encourage all those concerned to ensure that the new containment building for nuclear reactor 4 is constructed in accordance with current international ecological requirements. We believe that technical and financial support is essential to help these local and regional authorities close this dark chapter in the industrial history of the world, and personally undertake to pursue these aims.

APPENDIX 2

The Congress
of Local and Regional authorities

Council of Europe
F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex
Tel : +33 (0)3 88 41 21 10
Fax : +33 (0)3 88 41 27 51 / 37 47
http://www.coe.int/congress

Chernobyl 20 years on:
Local and regional authorities dealing with disasters

Conference organised in cooperation with the
City of Slavutych and the Foundation for Local Self-Government of Ukraine

PROGRAMME

Slavutych (Ukraine), 2 – 4 March 2006
Chernobyl Center for Nuclear Safety
Radioactive Waste and Radioecology