By Finau Limuloa
In May, a landmark disaster law workshop in the Cook Islands gathered representatives of the Cook Islands Red Cross Society (CIRCS), diplomatic missions and relevant government officials to finalise disaster related Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
The workshop followed on from the Cook Islands IDRL study, which was completed and presented to the government in August last year. One of the recommendations of the study was to develop a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) which would come into immediate but temporary effect to facilitate international disaster response while the more permanent legal measures are going through the country’s legal vetting process.
The workshop facilitator and legal advisor for the project, CIRC Advocacy and Policy Advisor, Ms Fine Tu’itupou-Arnold was pleased with the outcome of the workshop. The lively and engaging discussions demonstrated the wealth of participants’ experience and their willingness to explore workable solutions outside the status quo. It is expected that the temporary SOPs will be finalised in July 2013.
The workshop was hosted by CIRCS in partnership with the Emergency Management Cook Islands (EMCI) government department with support from IFRC.