In the Special Message of the Committee of Ministers (Doc. 238), transmitting to the Consultative Assembly the Programme of Work of the Council of Europe, paragraph 63 deals with assistance in the event of disasters of nature.
This paragraph states that the Committee of Ministers has decided to submit to a Working Party certain proposals to establish organised and automatic co-operation and assistance in the event of a disaster of nature. The Working Party would prepare a preliminary study of the problem and make suggestions for its solution.
The Message adds that the results of this study will be duly submitted to the Consulative Assembly.
n the light of these suggestions, the Special Committee on the problem of the Greek earthquake victims, having taken note of the calamity suffered at the present moment by Algeria, has the honour to submit the following draft Recommendation, which was unanimously adopted by the Committee.
The Assembly,
Having taken note of paragraph 63 of the Special Message of the Committee of Ministers(Doc. 238) ;
Noting with great concern that the recent disasters in Algeria render i t all the more urgent that the Council of Europe should set up machinery to co-ordinate European action and solidarity ;
Having regard also to the Resolutions already adopted by the Assembly in favour of victims of the earthquake in the Ionian Islands,
Recommends that the Committee of Ministers :
promote all possible efforts to provide, or continue, whatever assistance may be necessary to the peoples of Member States of the Council of Europe who have suffered a calamity of nature ;
take steps to ensure that assistance to any member country of the Council of Europe stricken by disaster shall in future be organised on a systematic and automatic basis;
Considers that this should be done with the utmost speed ; and
Urges that the Assembly be kept informed of any arrangements made to this end..