The International Charter "Space and Major Disasters" was initiated by the ESA and the Centre national d'études spatiales of France as a result of their proposal during UNISPACE III (1999). Other partners are the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States of America, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE) of Argentina. The Charter aims to provide a unified system of space data acquisition and delivery of value-added products free of charge, through authorized users, to those affected by major disasters.
In 2003 the Office was accepted as a cooperating body to the Charter, enabling the United Nations system to have access to the Charter as an authorized user. Beginning on the 1st July 2003 the Office set up a 24/7 hotline through which United Nations agencies can request data through the Charter to respond to emergency situations. This mechanism was used thirteen times by the United Nations in 2003 and 2004.
Details of the products delivered can be found on UNOSAT�s website: http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/asp/default.asp.
Additional information on the Charter can be found on the Charter website: http://www.disasterscharter.org/main_e.html.
If your organisation is interested in being able to access the Charter through the UN please send an e-mail to charter@unvienna.org.