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| IDRL
included in the Manila plan of action |
At the 6th
Asia and Pacific Regional Conference of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies in Manila adopted an Action Plan, which included
support for the IDRL Project.
The Manila
Action Plan commits the 49 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
in Asia, the Pacific and the Middle East, to a series of activities
that aim to improve the lives of disaster victims and displaced
people and to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in the region.
With Asia Pacific suffering from 60 per cent of the world's
natural disasters which perpetuate poverty, the Manila Action
Plan commits Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the region
to lobby governments to promote a greater understanding, coherence
and consistency of international disaster response law. It would
ensure that disaster victims are assisted faster, better and
would secure their right to assistance.
"Victims of armed conflict are afforded protection and
rights through international humanitarian law, but there is
no such support for victims of disasters. A clearer understanding
of existing international disaster response law would provide
that and could also regulate and facilitate the response to
disasters by the international community," said Dr. Mohammed
Al-Hadid, president of the Jordan National Red Crescent Society
and chair of the disaster management workshop at the conference. |
| More
information |
Asia Pacific Red Cross Red Crescent Conference adopts a plan
of action that fights for rights |
| Spreading
the message about IDRL: Update on advocacy and consultation
initiatives in 2002 |
An important component of the
IDRL Project is advocacy and consultation with a wide
range of different groups. To ensure that the IDRL Project
remains relevant, useful and capable of meeting its objectives,
it is essential to consult in various ways with the humanitarian,
legal, academic and government sectors.
Since May 2002, there have been considerable efforts made
to share information and receive feedback about the IDRL
Project in a number of different forums, some within the
Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and some in the wider
international community.
Some of these events have included:
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International
Federation Heads of Delegations Meeting, Geneva.
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International
Federation Disaster Relief and Preparedness Commission
Meeting, Geneva.
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European Union
National Societies Legal Advisers Meeting, Paris.
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International
Federation PNS Meeting, Geneva.
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International
Conference on Climate Change, The Hague.
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International
Urban Search and Rescue Core Group, New York.
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UN ECOSOC Humanitarian
Segment, New York.
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National Society
Legal Advisers Meeting, Geneva.
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Meeting of Permanent
Missions, Geneva.
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Regional Cooperation
Workshop, Ankara, Turkey.
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International
Disaster Management Symposium, Ankara, Turkey.
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Numerous discussions with individuals
on the subject of IDRL, including with State Permanent
Missions in Geneva and New York, UN OCHA and some key
National Societies.
In additon to participation in events, there have been
a range of other initiatives aimed at bringing IDRL Project
information to the attention of the wider public. These
initiatives include:
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The IDRL
web section added to the Federation web site contains
information on the project and a range of related links
to other sites.
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Fact Sheets
and a Federation Point of View have been developed to
assist in the communication of key messages about IDRL
both internally and externally.
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Advocacy and consultations relating
to the IDRL Project will continue in the lead up the International
Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in
December 2003, and the IDRL website will continue to be
updated with new information.
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Disaster management
