Obrona cywilna w Polsce i na świecie : dylematy i rozwiązania

A few-year-long works on constructing a population protection system have not fulfilled our expectations. The flood in July 1997 evoked a heated discussion on the civil defence future, unfortunately without any solutions in this matter. The legal status in the Republic of Poland causes that both the humanitarian actions called „civil defence” and Civil Defence organisational structures are mainly connected with the functioning of the state in wartime. This situation provokes disputes of competencies in all spheres of the prevention actions organisation and rescue works in emergency situations of a non military character. The civil defence notion embraces not only humanitarian missions for the population, goods and environment, but also many other endeavours, of a security character, realised in a civilian sector. They also include keeping order and public safety, material and moral support for the (own and friendly) armed forces, creating and keeping state reserves, supporting the government bodies functioning and others. Averting the threat of a war break out does not mean the resignation and withdrawal from the civil defence idea. The time has come to embody this idea in peacetime, giving up the hitherto existing war favouring thinking and acting. Only such an approach will enable to take use of the whole nation’s potential to counteract non-military threats and keeping the state of readiness to fight the most tragic of threats - war.