Better co-ordination needed to manage disaster related humanitarian crises

As natural and weather-related disasters such as floods, cyclones and droughts increase, there is now a need for co-ordinated action between governments and non-governmental organisations. This co-ordination is essential to counter humanitarian and economic crises affected by such disasters.

Commonwealth countries are directly affected by these crises. Six of the ten deadliest disasters in 2007 occurred in Commonwealth states.

In spite of help being offered by NGOs and governments, there have been teething problems in co-ordinating effective and timely relief. Perishable items have rotted, medicines expired and emergency relief supplies such as clothes and tents which were essential at the early stages of the 2004 tsunami relief efforts became redundant by the time they were cleared for entry.

“Our studies have shown that there are a number of regulatory problems that regularly beset large disaster assistance operations that tend to delay the receipt of aid, increase its costs and diminish its effectiveness,” said David Fisher, co-ordinator of the International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles (IDRL) Programme at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

“Better prepared legal frameworks can foresee and forestall these kinds of problems, avoiding a hurried and ad hoc rush to solutions in the aftermath of a huge disaster. In light of the rise in the number and impact of disasters due to climate change, it is now more important than ever for governments to consider the possibility that they might some day require international assistance and to prepare themselves accordingly.”

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has been studying the existing international legal framework, common regulatory problem areas, and best practices at the national level for several years, Mr Fisher said.

Through extensive consultations with states and disaster response agencies, the Federation spearheaded the development of a set of ‘Guidelines for the domestic facilitation and regulation of international disaster relief and initial recovery assistance’ (also known as the ‘IDRL Guidelines’), which were unanimously adopted by the state parties to the Geneva Conventions at the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in 2007.

The IDRL Guidelines are intended to help governments prepare for disasters by making recommendations as to how to strengthen their existing domestic laws. The objective is to ease the delivery of international assistance during the early phases of a crisis while at the same time ensuring adequate oversight and co-ordination by domestic authorities.

One critical recommendation of the Guidelines is that governments develop systems for granting international humanitarian organisations exemptions to legal barriers that may delay the delivery of aid, such as import duties for supplies such as medicines, visas for relief workers or transportation facilities. The Guidelines are also predicated on relief organisations complying with minimum standards of quality and co-ordination.

“This is an extremely practical document which will come in great use in preparing for and in the aftermath of a disaster, helping everyone involved co-ordinate in a more productive way,” says Dr Aldo Zammit Borda, Legal Editor at the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The Commonwealth has offered to ensure the wider dissemination of these guidelines in its member states. This will be done through public lectures and forums the Commonwealth Secretariat is involved in as well as the Commonwealth Law Bulletin. This is a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal focusing on legal articles, legislation, law reform and judicial decisions throughout the Commonwealth. It is circulated to ministries of justice, courts of law, law reform agencies, parliaments, bar associations and universities across the Commonwealth.

In December 2008, a special edition of the Commonwealth Law Bulletin focused on international humanitarian law and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including an article by Victoria Bannon, co-ordinator of the Federation’s IDRL Unit for Asia, on the IDRL Guidelines.

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