Disaster law: saving lives before, during and after crises
Disasters can cause enormous human suffering and loss. But the right laws and policies help keep communities safe, save lives, and ensure assistance reaches people when they need it most. IFRC Disaster Law works with governments, National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and partners to strengthen legal frameworks that protect people and reduce risk around the world.
Why disaster laws matter more than ever
People affected by Typhoon Kalmaegi — which made eight landfalls across central Philippines in November 2025 — smile at the camera while carrying essential relief items distributed by the Philippine Red Cross with support from the IFRC.
Photo: Jacqueline Hernandez/IFRC
Laws and policies shape every phase of disaster risk management: from preparing for hazards, coordinating emergency responses, and facilitating international support, to recovery and rebuilding.
When legal frameworks are strong and clear, governments and humanitarian actors can act faster, coordinate better, and protect the rights and dignity of all people, especially those most vulnerable.
Towards a global framework: the disaster treaty
In recognition of growing gaps in existing disaster law and the increasing scale and frequency of disasters the United Nations General Assembly has called on States to negotiate a new international treaty on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters. Based on the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles, this treaty is expected to be concluded by 2027 and aims to establish clear, binding international standards for disaster risk management and response.
The treaty seeks to:
- Ensure all people are protected before, during and after disasters, especially those in vulnerable situations;
- Strengthen cooperation among States and with humanitarian partners, including National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies;
- Prioritize disaster risk reduction as a legal obligation, not an option; and
- Facilitate predictable, timely and effective international assistance when disasters strike.
A binding global treaty would help transform shared lessons and voluntary commitments into clear international obligations — making legal preparedness a global standard.
Why the world needs a global disaster law treaty — case studies from Belize, Fiji, Lebanon and Madagascar
Latest
'We did not know how to respond to something like this': What the Lebanese Red Cross learned from the 2020 Beirut explosion
'We did not know how to respond to something like this': What the Lebanese Red Cross learned from the 2020 Beirut explosion
Statement on International Treaty on Pandemics “We need bold new solutions – both in international and domestic laws – to avoid the same mistakes"
Statement on International Treaty on Pandemics “We need bold new solutions – both in international and domestic laws – to avoid the same mistakes"
Bringing disaster risk management to the people of Nepal
Bringing disaster risk management to the people of Nepal
The Disaster Law Programme: Ten years in the Pacific
The Disaster Law Programme: Ten years in the Pacific
What we do
A deadly 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck the south east of Afghanistan on 22 June 2022, killing more than 1000 people and causing widespread devastation for people already suffering from multiple other disasters such as conflict, climate-related disasters, drought and food insecurity. Afghan Red Crescent teams responded immediately to help rescue survivors and provide humanitarian assistance to those affected.
Photo: IFRC/Meer Abdullah
IFRC Disaster Law is the global leader in providing technical advice, advocacy support and capacity building to governments and National Societies. Over the past 20 years, we have helped improve national disaster laws in more than 40 countries and supported legal preparedness with research, tools and peer learning.
Our areas of focus include:
- International disaster response laws — enabling faster, coordinated aid
- Climate-smart disaster risk reduction — embedding risk awareness into laws and regulations
- Disaster preparedness and response — helping clarify roles and responsibilities
- Disaster recovery law — strengthening legal frameworks for rebuilding
- Protection, gender and inclusion — ensuring laws address discrimination and vulnerability
Our areas of focus
International disaster response law
Experience has shown that even the best-prepared governments may need international assistance when a major disaster strikes. But few governments are legally prepared to receive a sudden influx of it.
Climate-smart disaster risk reduction
Laws and regulations are essential to reducing existing risks posed by natural hazards, preventing new risks from arising and making people safer.
Disaster preparedness and response
Underpinning every disaster preparedness activity or response operation, whether large or small, is a network of laws, policies and plans which determine who does what, when and how.
Disaster recovery
We're researching the legal dimensions of disaster recovery, in order to develop recommendations for domestic law and policy makers
Protection, gender and inclusion
Disasters discriminate. Women, children, older people, people with disabilities and many other groups may be disproportionately impacted by disasters, climate change and public health emergencies.
Public health emergencies
We've conducted research to identify the key features of an effective domestic legal and policy framework for public health emergency preparedness and response.