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| Legal preparedness essential for effective emergency relief in disasters, says new Federation report 5 November 2007 In disaster situations requiring international humanitarian assistance, inappropriate laws, insufficiently-implemented regulations or lack of legislation can seriously hamper emergency aid and increase its cost, says the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, in a new report launched today. It is calling on governments to improve their legal preparedness for disasters, in order to avoid and remedy the legal bottlenecks and challenges that can hinder life-saving aid from reaching people in need in a timely and efficient manner. The report, entitled “Law and Legal Issues in International Disaster Response” is the result of six years of research and consultations, at the global and regional levels, with governments, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, United Nations agencies, NGOs and other partners. It identifies core concepts and gap areas in existing in a host of treaties, laws, resolutions, declarations, guidelines and codes in dealing with international disaster response, and proposes steps that governments can take to become better prepared at the national level. “Most governments are still leaving all the details of regulating international disaster relief to the last minute,” notes Federation Deputy Secretary General Ibrahim Osman. “With the increasing complexity of cross-border relief and the growing number of actors involved, this is simply not going to be tenable over the long term.” Lengthy customs procedures and charges on relief goods and equipment can block vital aid and boost costs. According to the report, telecommunications equipment, vehicles, food and medicines are the most problematic items to get cleared through customs. Other areas of concern include visa restrictions for humanitarian personnel, delayed recognition of foreign medical credentials, and slow mechanisms for foreign organizations to obtain a domestic legal capacity to take such steps as opening bank accounts, hiring local staff and signing contracts in support of their operations in affected countries. At the same time, there is a rising recognition that some international disaster responders are failing to respect the primary role of national authorities and domestic relief actors, insisting on sending unneeded or inappropriate aid and ignoring internationally-agreed humanitarian quality standards. Well-prepared legal frameworks can help to reduce these problems. The report’s main recommendation is the adoption of a set of voluntary guidelines that have been developed in a series of high-level consultations the International Federation organized with governments and other stakeholders. The guidelines are designed to be a tool for governments seeking to prepare for the common problem areas if they ever need to seek international help in the face of a disaster. They will be presented as a resolution, for adoption by governments, at the 30th International Red Cross and Red Crescent Conference, which will take place in Geneva from 26 to 30 November. “We must all be ready to deal with the realities of large international assistance operations, and for us, sound legal preparedness is a priority to ensure that aid is better organized, flows more smoothly and efficiently reaches disaster-affected populations,” adds Ibrahim Osman. “We are convinced that governments of disaster-affected states can play a key role in ensuring the efficiency and quality of international aid.” Since 2001, and in the framework of its International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles (IDRL) programme, the International Federation has been working with its partners to study how laws and standards can help ensure that emergency assistance is delivered as efficiently as possible in order to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and impact from non-conflict disasters and alleviate the suffering of disaster-affected populations. For further information, or to set up interviews, please contact: Marie-Françoise Borel, Information Officer Tel: + 41 22 730 43 46 / + 41 79 217 33 45 Media Service Duty Phone (Geneva) Tel: + 41 79 416 38 81 The Geneva-based International Federation promotes the humanitarian activities of 185 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies among vulnerable people. By coordinating international disaster relief and encouraging development support, it seeks to prevent and alleviate human suffering. The Federation, National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross together, constitute the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. © International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies |
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