On September 12, the Cabinet of Ministers issued a resolution aimed at enhancing measures to ensure the safety of public, order and the prevention of emergency situations (ES) during mass events.
The Resolution noted that during some mass events, participants were increasingly committing actions that "threaten public and civil security."
These cases require additional measures to ensure the public safety, protect public order and prevent possible emergencies at the sites of mass events, especially at closed sites, the resolution added.
The changes to the rules provide for the following:
- taking into account the conditions for ensuring the safety of citizens, protecting public order and preventing possible emergencies when choosing a site for holding a mass event, as well as the availability of conditions for the effective evacuation of citizens in situations that pose a threat;
- informing spectators and other participants about the procedure, routes and directions of evacuation in the event of an emergency;
- ensuring security at entrances and exits of the site, installing physical barriers to restrict the movement of cars when approaching and entering the site.
According to the amendments to the Rules for holding mass events, now the commission in charge of monitoring mass events, if necessary, may create a working group to check the safe operation of utility lines during the organization and holding of a mass event, the state of the power supply and fire safety, road safety, methods of evacuating participants and preventing emergencies.
The working group must conduct a check of the facility not only depending on weather conditions, but also forecasts of the occurrence of dangerous natural phenomena and man-made accidents.
The organizer of a mass event shall be obliged to take measures to prevent emergencies, and in the presence of such threats, to create conditions for the effective evacuation of citizens.
Visitors to mass events are instructed not to panic in emergency situations, not to take actions that impede their evacuation and to comply with the legal requirements of the administration of the venue, internal affairs agencies, the National Guard and the Ministry of Emergency Situations regarding evacuation.
Administration of the venue where mass events are held is required to develop a text of an appeal to prevent panic, to prevent obstruction of evacuation in case of an emergency (crowding of people at passages, doors and in other places), and to ensure that it is communicated to citizens when such situations arise.
The passport of permission to hold mass events includes a requirement that the organizer is required to ensure the availability of technical and special means to eliminate emergency situations associated with dangerous natural phenomena and man-made accidents.
At the end of June, after another incident, the government banned the involvement of the public in mass events through free distribution of food, goods and other valuables or selling them at "excessively low" prices.
