WO2021019264A1

WO2021019264A1 - Assistance to victims residing abroad through consular psychological support units

Info

Publication number: WO2021019264A1
Application number: PCT/IB2019/000600
Authority: WO
Inventors: Frédéric Roche
Original assignee: Roche Frederic
Priority date: 2019-07-31
Filing date: 2019-07-31
Publication date: 2021-02-04

Abstract

The principle of the Psychological Support Consular Units (PSCU) is to rely on the consular networks deployed by the embassies of the national's country in the different countries where they are represented. As well as on the professional skills of volunteers from the national's country, residing in the geographical area of the consulate. These volunteers will be placed in a team in each consulate. This team will be managed locally, and a copy will be sent to the main coordinator at the embassy. These units will be activated in case of major events (natural, technological, terrorist, biological, etc.) by the crisis unit (with the coordinator) either at the consulate or embassy level. There are several levels of activation, notably at the level of a telephone platform or by deployment in the field.

Description

ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS RESIDING ABROAD THROUGH

CONSULAR PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT UNITS

It is based on the creation of a network of Consular Psychological Support Units (C.P.S.U.).

The Consular Psychological Support Units (C.P.S.U.) bring together volunteers who speak the language of the country from which the nationals come, they are mainly from medical or paramedical professions. In the case of a crisis or serious event involving nationals of that country.

Description:

The missions of the C.P.S.U. are as follows:

A main mission of assistance, accompaniment and psychological orientation

• In an emergency situation:

« Provide psychological assistance and appropriate orientation in the mother tongue to

victims of a serious event and their dependents, while respecting medical confidentiality

« Provide support to agents in charge of managing individual situations and relations with victims or their beneficiaries

• Out of emergency situation:

• Train professionals and volunteers in the mission of listening, accompaniment and

orientation.

« Propose medical-psychological support measures, if necessary, in liaison with local medical authorities for permanent residents or in liaison with the health authorities of the country of origin for visiting nationals

An information processing mission

• Compile the various data collected by the volunteers, summarize them and ensure

individualized follow-up in liaison with consular and health authorities

• Inform in real time the consular authority in charge or the Embassy's crisis unit of situations requiring appropriate care (hospitalization, repatriation, accompanying measures, monitoring, etc.)

• Ensure communication with the federal or national coordinator of the C.P.S.U.

The main missions of the federal or national coordinator are:

• To provide expertise on the psychological situation of victims of a major event

• To retrieve information concerning the event (nature, location, total number of victims,

estimated number of nationals of the country) to define what type of response should be implemented, in particular by initiating and setting up one or more C.P.S.U., and determining their organization and location

• To summarize them for the head of the Embassy's crisis unit and to transmit, through this

intermediary, any useful information to the Crisis Centre of the country from which the nationals come. • To ensure contact with emergency units in the country to deal with specific individual situations and, if necessary, with the person in charge of the medical coordination of the nationals' country.

The C.P.S.U. therefore hove the following advantages:

• The teams speak the language of the nationals' country and allow compatriots, potential victims of events or their beneficiaries to be listened to and understood and to express themselves in their mother tongue

• Teams can be mobilized in a very short time (3 to 6 hours) and are very flexible

• CP.S.U. volunteers have a perfect knowledge of both cultures (the country of nationals and the country of residence) and local specificities (relations with the police, health services, legislation...)

2. Organization :

Constitution of the CP.S.U.:

• The teams are made up of volunteers who speak the language of the country from which the nationals, they are attached to each of the consular districts come:

• Volunteers with expertise in psychology and/or health (medical or paramedical staff)

• Volunteers with expertise in the legal and insurance field (lawyers, jurists, insurers, etc.)

• If necessary, and in particular in the event of an extremely serious event, volunteers may be called upon throughout the territory of the country of residence, in order to strengthen local teams and ensure continuous service

Triggering and organization of the C.P.S.U.:

As soon as the crisis cell is activated at the Consulate and/or Embassy level, the federal or national coordinator of the CP.S.U. is alerted by the security officer or his equivalent at the Embassy or Consulate level. The latter contacts the identified volunteers In the consular district concerned. If the event affects several border consular districts, volunteers attached to the Consulates General concerned are also mobilized. The activation of the C.P.S.U. is carried out by the person in charge of the crisis unit on the proposal of the federal or national coordinator. The volunteers of the C.P.S.U. mobilized receive regular briefings and status updates.

Two levels of action are identified: the first in "crisis management" mode, this level of action is organized into three types of intervention (a) and the second in "post-crisis" mode and will address legal or administrative issues (b).

a. The 3 levels of intervention of the C.P.S.U. in "crisis management" mode

Level 1 :

General framework: A serious event affects (or will affect) a region of the country or a city. Local authorities confirm that there are victims, but it is not known if there are any nationals of the country among them.

C.P.S.U. Commitment: In this context, the federal or national coordinator is alerted and contacts the CP.S.U. members concerned to put them on alert and verify their availability. In the event of an event of very high intensity or involving several States and several

constituencies, the federal or national coordinator shall alert the volunteers necessary to consider rapid deployment in or near the area. He ensures their availability while the crisis logistics team implements the appropriate deployment resources.

Level 2

• General framework: The event is of high Intensity. It is considered serious to very serious. The number of victims whose nationality is not yet known is significant. The telephone answering cell receives many calls. Faced with little information coming from the field, tension is rising among callers. They are aggressive, anxious or impatient. Several calls suggest that victims who are nationals may be affected.

* CP.S.U.C. Engagement: C.P.S.U. volunteers join the crisis unit and support teams of first and second level respondents by helping them and providing them with information on how to respond. They also handle certain calls that require special handling. To this end, second-level respondents and C.P.S.U. volunteers use a "Specific Information Sheet" (see attachment) to best assess the degree of intervention and serve as a basis for setting up a follow-up file that can be transferred to a referring doctor. At least one C.P.S.U. volunteer participates in the crisis cell meeting organized by the Consulate General to provide expertise and advice as the situation evolves.

Level 3 :

• General framework: The event is of high intensity. We are aware of the presence of victims who are nationals (deaths, confirmed disappearances, injuries caused by witnesses or local authorities) or serious problems encountered by nationals (destroyed houses or property, people trapped in airports or emergency centers, health problems, separated children...). This situation requires the deployment of consular officers accompanied by C.P.S.U. volunteers in the field. The place of deployment is decided according to the circumstances by the head of the consular post in liaison with the head of the Embassy^!s crisis unit.

• C.P.S.U.C. Commitment: C.P.S.U. volunteers deployed in the field are part of a team led in the field by a consular officer. In contact with victims and/or their beneficiaries, they collect information and transmit it to the federal or national coordinator. The federal or national coordinator ensures that information is forwarded to the person in charge of the crisis unit and, if necessary, intervenes with the local health authorities to take care of certain persons or with the country’s health authorities for visiting nationals returning to their country. This makes It possible to ensure, beyond the crisis, a follow-up of the various victims identified. To do this, he must be in contact with the medical or medico-psychological teams of the Crisis and Support Centre in their country.

At the end of the crisis, a general debriefing is carried out with all the volunteers involved, both in the crisis unit and in the field. This debriefing Is carried out in the presence of C.P.S.U. volunteers. A debriefing of C.P.S.U. volunteers is also carried out separately to improve the system during future events and to draw all the lessons from the management of the recent crisis. b. in post-crisis mode:

The experience of managing the consequences of a major event has shown the importance of actively listening to our compatriots, who are faced with the destruction of their real estate or personal property or their work tools (companies, farms or vineyards). For this reason, some C.P.S.U. volunteers may be integrated by virtue of their experience or level of expertise in areas related to post-disaster reconstruction. These meetings should also allow our compatriots to express themselves freely and to be listened to with kindness by specialists from different fields who provide them with the necessary advice.

3. First achievements, assessment and prospects:

Response sheets and procedures have been developed: "Response sheet for responding at the psychological level in the event of a major event", "Psychological intervention sheet", "information note to victims", one for residents and one for non-residents, "Intervention kit sheet" (see attachments).

Claims

We claim for the protection of the idea and concept of psychological support and guidance for nationals residing in or passing abroad from their countries of origin. We also claim the protection of the operating and implementation procedures described in the attached documents, but also of the associated documents, necessary for the implementation of the concept, in particular the Consular Psychological Support Units.