The 23rd annual report of the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters is now available, and describes the Charter's activities throughout 2023.

In 2023, the Charter was activated 63 times in 40 different countries. This is the highest number of activations ever seen in a single year since the inception of the Charter. The new average number of activations per year is 36 since 2000, and 43 since 2007 (when the Charter began consistently handling more activations). The range of activations per year since 2007 ranges from 32 in 2011 to 63 in 2023.

This year, the Charter was triggered three times for man-made disasters: An oil spill in The Philippines, an explosion in Guinea, and a missing Chinese vessel in the Ross Sea. By the end of 2023, the Charter had been triggered for 856 disasters in 139 countries since 2000. In 2023, 6 activations occurred in countries which had never had an activation before.

The Charter has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to expanding its number of users. Initiatives include collaboration with UNOOSA and UNITAR/UNOSAT, both of which are active in many disaster-prone countries and can submit requests to support in-country UN relief agencies. Another collaboration is with Sentinel Asia, a regional network for Earth Observation-based Emergency response that is active in 29 countries. Additionally, Sentinel Asia's partner, the Asian Disaster Reduction Centre can submit activation requests on behalf of Sentinel Asia users.

• The earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria that killed 56,683 people and affected 18 million (combined)
• Flooding in Libya caused by storm Daniel that killed 12,352 people and affected 1.6 million
• Flooding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that killed 2,970 people and affected 50,000 people

All three of these events were covered by Charter activations, with the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria being separate activations.