The partnership has executive responsibility for participants, and overall responsibility in the event of any emergency or crisis situation involving them. The partnership must prepare an emergency plan for dealing with the various contingencies that might arise (e.g. accident, serious illness, death, crime, natural disaster, war). The emergency plan must specify who is responsible for what in an emergency, and the partnership must designate a crisis management officer and a press officer. In general, Fredskorpset expects its partners to be able to deal with emergencies themselves, but can provide assistance as necessary. Fredskorpset has drafted an emergency plan for use as a template by the partners: see Annex 5, Emergency plan. 

The partnership is required to complete and update a registration form for Fredskorpset participants. This is to be sent to the partner and the applicable embassy/consulate in the participant’s host country. The template for this form is provided in Annex 5, Emergency plan.

The following guidelines provide

1. a description of the division of responsibilities and roles in an emergency, taken from Fredskorpset’s general emergency plan
2. proposed procedures for partners to follow in dealing with serious emergencies

Division of responsibilities and roles in an emergency

Fredskorpset’s chief responsibilities in an emergency situation

• to have drawn up a contingency plan
• to have informed all parties of their roles and responsibilities
• to be available to exercise executive responsibility
• to have access to all relevant information about partners and participants
• to have established clear lines of communication with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• to deal with media relations, as appropriate.

A key element in Fredskorpset’s crisis prevention and management vis-à-vis both the media and the situation at hand will be to ensure that the following have been attended to and documented by

Fredskorpset and the other relevant parties:

• to ensure that partnership agreements and participant agreements setting out the rights and obligations of the parties are in place
• to ensure that partners have reported relevant data on participants to Fredskorpset and to the embassy
• to ensure that the preparatory course provides information about all relevant factors concerning personal safety
• to ensure that the partnership has sufficient insight and administrative capacity to manage conflicts, irregularities and emergencies
• to ensure that participants are offered personal counselling during and after an emergency, as required.
• to ensure that participants are posted to safe countries.

The Primary Partner’s chief responsibilities:

• to serve as the partnership’s executive front-line for crisis management in Norway
• to be available to exercise executive responsibility as Fredskorpset’s and the Secondary Partner’s main contact for crisis management
• to maintain clearly defined lines of communication with the Secondary Partner
• to maintain an adequate apparatus and capability for managing irregularities, conflicts and emergencies
• to assess, recommend and implement measures to assist participants in case of emergency
• to ascertain, on behalf of Fredskorpset, that the Secondary Partner and participants observe their share of the responsibility
• to inform Fredskorpset of any emergency arising in Norway or in the South
• to ensure that participants are reasonably mature and well-balanced individuals suited to a foreign posting: they should possess the commitment and the ability to comply with the information provided during the preparatory course, the general guidelines laid down by the partnership for exchanges, and any special guidelines issued in an emergency.
• to ensure that accommodation, travel routes and working conditions in the host country are reasonably safe and secure
• to ensure that the participants have access to proper local medical care in the event of emergencies/accidents and illness
• to furnish the participants with essential medicines, where relevant
• to ensure that all the participants are covered by valid travel insurance for the duration of their foreign posting, including repatriation following an accident
• to obtain contact information about relatives of participants to contact in the event of an emergency. This information must be provided on a designated form and the completed form sent to the relevant embassy/consulate in the participant’s host country.
• to inform the participants about the emergency plan, and to obtain all the essential telephone numbers. The emergency plan must include contact information for a hospital and doctor’s surgery near the posting location.

The Secondary Partner’s chief responsibilities:

• to serve as the partnership’s executive front-line for crisis management in the South
• to maintain clearly defined lines of communication with the Primary Partner
• to maintain an adequate apparatus and capability for managing irregularities, conflicts and emergencies for participants in the South.
• to assess, recommend and implement measures to assistant participants in case of emergency.
• to monitor continuously the participants’ safety with respect to their accommodation, travel routes and working conditions, and to take active measures to ensure that participants enjoy a reasonable degree of security.

Participants’ chief responsibilities:

• to abide by the information provided during the course concerning personal safety, including the prevention of AIDS, physical assault, rape and financial exploitation
• to comply with the general guidelines laid down by the partnership for the posting, and any special guidelines issued in an emergency, including any limitation on freedom of movement
• to accept the partner’s authority in the partnership as the executive body
• to ensure personally that all relevant personal information has been provided to Fredskorpset, the partnership and the embassy
• to draw up a relevant personal contingency plan jointly with the partner: arrange for access to local medical care of a adequate standard, keep telephone numbers of emergency services available, a small store of food provisions, travel documents, etc.
• in cooperation with the partnership, to abide by any guidelines and recommendations issued by the embassy in a state of emergency and to familiarise themselves with any contingency plan produced by the embassy for foreign nationals residing in the country
• Participants should know what their blood type is.

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ responsibilities:

• to inform Fredskorpset of risk assessments for countries and regions
• to issue guidelines and recommendations concerning evacuation or other measures in a state of emergency, in Norway or through the embassiesIn certain cases, the embassy/consulate will be able to assist with repatriation in the event of serious illness or an accident. The embassy’s or consulate’s responsibility is limited: see the brochure "Assistance to Norwegians travelling abroad", issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Proposed procedure for partners' management of serious emergencies

In the event of an emergency

1. The person taking any emergency call should:
   - note down the name and telephone number of the person calling to report the emergency
   - ask for the exact location
   - establish the extent of the emergency and who is involved.
2. Immediately contact the designated crisis management officer.
3. The crisis management officer then obtains as much information as possible.
4. The crisis management officer informs the rest of the partnership. An assessment will be made as to what measures to instigate. Efforts are to be divided up into an executive component and an informational component: the press officer is responsible for the informational component, whereas the crisis management officer assumes responsibility for the executive component.
5. The first priority is the participant. Second priority goes to next of kin and other close relatives, followed by the media.

1. Executive component

Chief responsibility: crisis management officer

Advice to crisis management officers:

• Consider all the various situations that might arise and what you would do.
• Be prepared to travel at short notice if so instructed by the partnership.
• Keep information about the programme, location and contacts for the Fredskorpset project readily available at all times.

In the event of a serious emergency involving a participant:

1. Maintain good contact with those involved. If possible, set up a communication line to be kept open constantly, e.g. using a mobile phone.
2. Contact Fredskorpset and the embassy/consulate to liaison and information.

2. Informational component

Chief responsibility: Press officer

The press officer is responsible for all contact with the press. The press will soon know about major emergencies, and it is important for the partners to stay one step ahead of the press. This is best achieved through close liaison with Fredskorpset.  

General guidelines:

• Ensure that only reliable information is passed on. Do not make statements that subsequently prove to be incorrect.
• Inform the press as to what has been reported, what is known and the source of the information.
• Information must not be released to the press before relatives have been contacted. Relatives should be involved in decisions as to what information is to be released to the media.

Information to relatives

• The crisis management officer is responsible for informing next of kin and other close relatives in the event of any accident.
• In the event of a fatality, the crisis management officer should contact the local priest/police.
• Relatives require confirmed and reliable information. It may be necessary to give them the same information several times, as any crisis makes it difficult to comprehend and deal with information. In such cases, it is important that the partner can make him/herself available to the parties in question for as long as is required.

3. Follow-up 

Chief responsibility: crisis management officer

Incisive measures are important, but long-term measures may also be necessary. There are at least four groups that require follow-up, ideally over an extended period:

1. those directly involved in the emergency/accident
2. relatives
3. other participants
4. The Secondary Partner, local community and families in the host country, etc.