In this issue:
Climate change negotiations
and humanitarian need
IDRL spotlight at the Global
Platform and ECOSOC
Sierra Leone plans for the
future at IDRL workshop
East Africans build their
capacity to use legal tools
IDRL developments at the
OAS and CAPRADE
China to develop new
disaster law framework
IDRL announcements
July 2009
INTERNATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE LAWS,
RULES, AND PRINCIPLES PROGRAMME
IDRL E-NEWSLETTER N° 19
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Upcoming IDRL workshops:
Suva: August 17-19
Panama: September 28-30 (tbc)
Phnom Penh: October 6-8 (tbc)
Almaty: October 21-23 (tbc)
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IDRL E-Newsletter No. 19 (July 2009)
Climate change negotiations and humanitarian need
R
esponding to a new-found sense of
urgency, diplomats from around the
world are engaged this year in an
increasingly intense series of negotiations
concerning the means to address climate change.
In December, the 15th Conference of Parties
to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change will meet in Copenhagen to
consider whether and how to replace the Kyoto
Protocol, which is scheduled to lapse in 2012.
A critical focus of these negotiations will be
how to slow the increase in global surface
temperature in the future, in particular through
new commitments to reduce the emission of
greenhouse gases that are believed to be its
primary cause. However, the IFRC and its
partners in the humanitarian community have
been vocal in urging states to also address
adaptation to the current and near-term impacts
of climate change.
The importance of adaptation
“The International Federation has already
witnessed the impacts of climate change on
vulnerable people, particularly in times of
disaster,” notes Madeleen Helmer, head of the
Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre, “We
must go beyond reducing emissions to pre-empt
these impacts and we need to act now.”
“We are asking states to make sure that the
Copenhagen agreement includes commitments
and funding mechanisms to reduce the
vulnerability of communities to disasters and
to ensure an effective humanitarian response
when it’s needed,” said Bhupinder Tomar, Senior
Office for Disaster Preparedness at the IFRC.
“There should also be a commitment to legal
preparedness for disasters, per the IDRL
Guidelines.”
The bumpy road ahead to Copenhagen
In light of the high sensitivity of the issues
involved, it is not yet clear what kind of
outcome will emerge from the Copenhagen
conference, but many hope that it will be a new
binding agreement. Drafting of such an
agreement has already begun, and additional pre-
conference negotiations will take place in
August, September and November.
A chairman’s draft already includes an important
focus on adaptation as well as very encouraging
potential language on substantial new funding
streams for risk reduction and preparedness
measures. However, the many alternative
provisions included in that draft, as well as
separate proposals from various countries, show
that there are still quite a lot of distance to cover
before agreement will be reached.
With leadership from the IFRC, an inter-agency
task force has been formed including UN, Red
Cross/Red Crescent and NGO partners to
jointly stress the humanitarian challenges of
climate change and present solutions during
these negotiations.
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IDRL E-Newsletter No. 19 (July 2009)
O
n July 20-22, 2009, the UN’s
Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC) conducted its annual
humanitarian segment, addressing a number of
themes, including humanitarian coordination
and the implementation guiding principles of
humanitarian assistance.
In her official statement, IFRC Under-Secretary
General for Disaster Response and Early
Recovery Yasemin Aysan underlined the
IFRC’s collaboration with states seeking to
improve their regulatory systems for receiving
international disaster assistance. On behalf of
the European Union, Sweden emphasized the
importance of the IDRL Guidelines as a means
to build states’ capacity in this area. The critical
role of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in
general was also repeatedly raised.
At the end of its session, ECOSOC adopted a
resolution, which “encourages Member States
and, where applicable, relevant regional
organizations to strengthen operational and
legal frameworks for international disaster
relief, taking into account, as appropriate, the
Guidelines for the Domestic Facilitation and
Regulation of International Disaster Relief and
Initial Recovery Assistance, adopted at the
thirtieth International Conference of the Red
Cross and Red Crescent held in Geneva in
November 2007.”
Global Platform on Disaster Risk
Reduction
O
n June 16-19, the United Nations
International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (ISDR) organized the
second session of the Global Platform on
Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva.
The importance of strengthening legal
preparedness for disasters, including through
use of the IDRL Guidelines, was highlighted in
a number of the Platform’s events, including in
a pre-session event for Central Asia, statements
from the floor from several participants in the
plenary sessions, and other side events.
In addition, on June 18, OCHA and the IFRC
co-hosted a well-attended special event on
“Legal preparedness for international disaster
cooperation in the context of climate change,”
with high-level speakers from Cambodia,
Norway and Sierra Leone presenting their
experiences making use of the IDRL Guidelines
in reviews of their national legal frameworks.
In his summary of the overall proceedings,
Global Platform Chair and UN Under-Secretary-
General John Holmes noted that “there is a
pressing need to build institutions, including
legal frameworks, to sustain disaster risk reduc-
tion action as an ongoing concern, and several
countries stressed the need for technical
assistance, to help grow their capacities.”
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IDRL spotlight at the Global Platform and ECOSOC
UN ECOSOC humanitarian segment
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IDRL E-Newsletter No. 19 (July 2009)
Sierra Leone plans for the future at IDRL workshop
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n July 9, the Sierra Leone Office of
National Security (ONS), IFRC and
Sierra Leone Red Cross Society jointly
organized the first of two planned workshops
concerning legal preparedness for international
diaster relief. Participants from line ministries,
UN agencies, NGOs and the media joined
members of the IDRL Pilot Project task force
to consider the preliminary findings of the
project’s research on the legal framework for the
regulation of international disaster assistance.
Participants acknowledged a number of gaps
in Sierra Leone’s current legal framework with
regard to international disaster assistance. In
this regard Mye Kamara, Director of the ONS
Department of Disaster Management, noted
that many countries neither have the necessary
laws in place nor show willingness to admit that
they might need outside help in the future. She
assured participants that this would not be the
case in Sierra Leone. For his part, Sierra Leone
Red Cross Secretary-General Emmanuel
Tommy emphasized that climate change was
increasing the potential for such rules to be
needed.
Participants provided detailed suggestions
concerning the preliminary findings, which will
be integrated into a comprehensive final report
as a basis for new legislation.
“Disaster preparedness is not just
about ensuring that local response
systems are in place; international
intervention should also be an
integral part.
Lessons from several parts of the
world have indicated that urgently
needed international disaster
response has been delayed or
prevented by national legal
regulatory frameworks.
We need to ensure a coordinated
and well-supervised international
intervention in disasters.”
From the opening remarks by
Larry Bassie, Chief of Staff,
Office of National Security
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IDRL E-Newsletter No. 19 (July 2009)
East Africans build their capacity to use legal tools
F
rom June 29 to July 1st, the IFRC’s IDRL
Programme and East Africa Zone Of
fice hosted representatives from 12 Na-
tional Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
and partners from other humanitarian organi-
zations in Nairobi for the second regional IDRL
training and consultation workshop to be con-
ducted in Africa.
Through “hands on,” scenario-based case stud-
ies, the participants learned about the IDRL
Guidelines and other international legal instru-
ments in disaster response. Participants ex-
plored the potential uses and limits of these
instruments, both as advocacy tools and as
guidance for resolving ethical and policy dilem-
mas in their own operations.
Participants also shared perspectives, experi-
ences and strategies on influencing the devel-
opment of domestic law concerning disasters
and health emergencies. Among these was
Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) Secretary-
General Abbas Gullet’s description of the suc-
cess of his National Society in lobbying the East
African Customs Union to allow for VAT waiv-
ers to National Societies in the region. KRCS
Disaster Management Head Mohammed
Abdinoor further pointed out that the KRCS
had succeeded in obtaining a number of do-
mestic legal facilities, including tax exemptions
on importation of relief food and vehicles.
Likewise, Francis Buwule and Andrew Omale
of the Uganda Red Cross (URCS) noted their
Society’s experience in developing national
policy on disaster risk reduction (currently be-
ing finalized) as well as the national policy for
internally displaced persons. In addition, the
URCS had been able to obtain tax exemptions
such as registration of vehicles duty free.
In cooperation with the Uganda Government
and the IFRC, URCS is currently in the process
of initiating an IDRL Pilot Project to promote
implementation of the IDRL Guidelines in
Ugandan law.
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Kenya Red Cross Secretary-General Abbas
Gullet greeted participants to the training
Andrew Omale shared the Uganda Red
Cross’ experience in legislative advocacy
Luciana Lagrenade and Samantha Aglae of
the Seychelles Red Cross did not go hungry
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IDRL E-Newsletter No. 19 (July 2009)
China to develop a new disaster law framework
T
hat natural disasters can dramatically
impact even the most powerful nations
was again confirmed on May 12, 2008,
when a massive earthquake struck Sichuan
Provice in China, killing more than 80,000 and
displacing millions.
While particularly devastating, the Sichuan
earthquake was nothing new, given that four in
every ten of the most destructive earthquakes
in the world occur in China. Moreover, China is
suffering increasingly from extreme weather,
ranging from intense cold to typhoons.
Accordingly, the Chinese government recently
released a white paper entitled, “China’s Actions
for Disaster Prevention and Reduction,” that
calls, among other things, for the development
of a new legal framework, institutional setup
and working mechanism related to disaster
reduction and response. The paper highlights that
laws and regulations concerning disaster
reduction as well as other policies need to be
improved.
The readiness of the Red Cross movement to
support the government’s moves is reflected in
the China Red Cross’ plans for promoting IDRL
as part of its activities for 2009-2010. These
include plans for organising trainings and
workshops on IDRL in the coming months.
The IDRL Guidelines have also been translated
to Mandarin, which will greatly facilitate the
disemination of IDRL to relevant officials.
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IDRL developments at the OAS and CAPRADE
O
n June 4, the General Assembly of the
Organization of American States
adopted a new resolution concerning
mechanisms for disaster prevention and
response. The resolution called on the Perm-
anent Council and the Inter-American Council
for Integral Development to “convene a meeting
to begin the process of joint assessment of
existing legislative and coordination mechanisms
in the natural disaster and humanitarian
assistance areas.”
The resolution also called for increased
“coordination, cooperation, and synergy in
actions to facilitate transparent management of
supplies and expedite humanitarian assistance.”
F
rom June 29 to July 1st, the Andean Com
mittee for Disaster Prevention and Relief
(CAPRADE) held its 14th meeting in
Cusco, Peru. In addition to CAPRADE mem-
ber states, participants included representatives
of the IFRC and other international and regional
organizations.
Among the topics discussed at the meeting was
the need to improve understanding of IDRL in
the region and to strengthen national and re-
gional laws on disaster response with reference
to the IDRL Guidelines. One step in this direc-
tion might be the inclusion of additional refer-
ence to the Guidelines in a future revision of
the CAPRADE manual on disaster cooperation.
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IDRL E-Newsletter No. 19 (July 2009)
Special thanks
The IDRL Programme would like to
express its thanks to:
for:
•
Co-hosting the special event on
IDRL at the Global Platform on
Disaster Risk Reduction;
•
Inviting the IFRC to participate in
a training on international law for
Humanitarian Coordinators in Turin;
and
•
Providing 3 facilitators to the second
regional IDRL training and consul-
tation workshop in Africa in June.
***
Our thanks also to Emmanuel Tommy,
Secretary-General of the Sierra Leone Red
Cross, Ross Sovann
Deputy Secretary-
General, Cambodian National Committee for
Disaster Management, and Dag Olav Høgvold,
Senior Advisor, Norwegian Directorate for
Civil Protection and Emergency Planning
for
participating in the IDRL special event
panel at the Global Platform.
***
Finally, we would like to express our
gratitude and best wishes to IDRL Intern
Gisela Hernandez-Herrerias, who will
soon be moving to the International
Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva.
Gisela has contributed a great deal of
careful thinking, enthusiasm and evil
humour to the IDRL Programme, which
will be sorely missed.
IDRL announcements
In two years’ time, at the
31st International Con-
ference of the Red Cross
and Red Crescent, states
and National Societies
will be invited to report on
their use of the IDRL
Guidelines unanimously
adopted on November
2007. At this mid-point
IDRL follow-up survey 2009
Draft legislative advocacy manual
In cooperation with several
departments and offices at
the IFRC, the IDRL
Programme is developing a
manual to assist National
Societies in their advocacy
for effective and human-
itarian laws in the sphere
of disasters and health
Call for papers on disaster law
The IDRL Programme is
initiating a working paper
series on the theme of
disaster law. Submissions
of original papers con-
cerning legal issues in
between the two conferences, the IFRC has
launched a brief survey to gauge progress to
date. Copies of the survey are available at
http://www.ifrc.org/idrl. Responses by states and National Societies are
requested by September 11, 2009.
international or domestic disaster relief, disaster
risk reduction, and pandemic control are
welcome. For more information, contact
idrl@ifrc.org. 
8
IDRL E-Newsletter No. 19 (July 2009)
About the Federation’s IDRL Programme
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ IDRL Programme seeks
to reduce human vulnerability by promoting legal preparedness for disasters through advocacy,
technical assistance, training and research. For more information, please see our website at
.
IDRL E-Newsletter Editorial Staff:
Aishah Amin, Victoria Bannon, Helga-Bara
Bragadottir, David Fisher, Gisela Hernandez & Eilif Torma.
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