IDRL
Regulatory problems in
international disaster response
operations – Findings of the IFRC
Sanne Boswijk
Disaster Law Coordinator for MENA
Kuwait, 10 June 2015
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
Foreign Rescue Team Delayed By Japanese
Bureaucracy
TOKYO March 13, 2011
Japan's stringent customs regulations on importing animals
delayed a Swiss search and rescue team from getting
their nine highly trained dogs to the quake zone quickly,
as the time to find still living victims of the tsunami rapidly
dwindles.
"There are many rules here. So it's taking a long time,"
a member of the Swiss team told ABC News.com in the
customs area of Narita International Airport, moments
after an aftershock rolled through the airport, a
visceral reminder of the still tenuous situation here.
While the death toll here grows by the hour, U.S. officials said
they are working with the Japanese to expedite approval
of dog teams from Virginia and California now on their
way to Japan to avoid similar bureaucratic snafus.
ABC news
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
Flights carrying food for drought-stricken Horn of Africa
rescheduled owing to administrative complications.
Al Jazeera, 27 July 2011
The UN is preparing to airlift food aid to the drought-stricken areas of the Horn of Africa, but
flights have been delayed due to administrative complications.
Airlifts were to begin on Tuesday to the Somali capital of Mogadishu, Dolo in Ethiopia and Wajir in
Kenya. Now, officials say, they will not start until Wednesday.
The scheduled flights were delayed after a wait for clearance permission in Nairobi, Kenya, where the
mission is being flown from, did not come on time.
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
Nepal Customs Holding Up Earthquake Relief, UN
Says, As Death Toll Nears 7000
The United Nations has said
that customs delays are impeding
earthquake relief efforts in Nepal, with
bureaucratic bottlenecks at the
country’s only international airport
holding up the delivery of aid materials
to survivors. U.N. Resident
Representative Jamie McGoldrick told
Reuters Saturday that Nepal must
loosen their customs regulations in
order to cope with incoming relief
packages and ensure their speedy
delivery. The news comes a week
after a 7.9 magnitude
earthquake devastated the
mountainous country.
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
Law and international assistance: context
Climate Change
• More and bigger disasters = more
need for int’l cooperation
600
400
200
0
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
More and different responders
• More complex than ever for recipient
governments
Common regulatory problems in international
disaster response operations
Entry barriers
Quality problems
Impact: reduced access, higher costs, poorer quality
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
Inititation of relief: When the scale of the damage
exceeds the capacities of the national authorities,
how is international assistance managed?
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
Customs procedures: Will assisting States and
humanitarian organisations have to pay import tax
over food aid and other humanitarian goods?
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
Visa and qualifications
Can humanitarian personnel
enter any country in an
emergency?
Is it automatically allowed for
humanitarian medical staff to
operate in your country as
medical practitioner?
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
Quality of relief items: medicines and food
Which rules/procedures may
influence the distribution of
medicines?
Can humanitarian
organisaitons make use of
food aid that contains
GMOs?
Hint
Can you read this:
не для внутреннего пользования
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Saving lives, changing minds.
Liability
What if there is some mistake?
Who decides if humanitarian
personnel is liable for any
damage it may cause?
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Saving lives, changing minds.
RC /RC
(Soft) Law
Global & Regional
Institutions
No general
Disaster Treaty
Soft
Law
Sectoral
treaties
Regional
agreements
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
Bilateral
Agreements
Domestic Law







Disaster Risk Management
law and/or policy
Customs regulations
Public health legislation
Immigration regulations
Tax laws
Criminal law/penal code
Etc,
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
Assessment
Underperforming international framework
• Lack of dissemination
• Lack of coherence
• Gaps in coverage
Gaps in domestic law
• Lack of clear procedures
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
Legal preparedness at the domestic level: the
IDRL Guidelines
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.

Adopted by consensus by the state
parties to the Geneva Conventions in
2007

Promoted by name in 8 UN GA
resolutions

Recommendations to governments on
how to prepare their own domestic
laws and procedures for international
assistance

9 new laws or regulations / 11
pending, 20 formal reviews
IDRL Model Act

a reference tool and example to lawmakers as they develop legislation
appropriate to their national
cicumstances.

The Model could serve as the basis of
a stand-alone act or as the basis for
amendments and additions to existing
laws addressing the various regulatory
questions at issue in international
operations.
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
IDRL in MENA
1. Technical Assistance
Collaborating with National Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies and other partners to
assisting governments in strengthening their
domestic legal preparedness for disasters.
2. Capacity Building
Building the capacity of National Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies to advise their
governments on the development of disaster
management law.
3. Advocacy, dissemination and research
Building partnerships at the international and
regional level on legal preparedness,
disseminating the new Guidelines, and
fostering new and innovative research.
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
MENA Plans 2015

Regional Consultation on
Law and Disasters (10-11
June)
 Technical Project Tunisia
 Technical project in a
second MENA country
 Integrating DL in DMU
trainings and other activities
(RDRT, NDRT, disaster
simulations, case studies
etc.)
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
For more information
www.ifrc.org/dl
sanne.boswijk@ifrc.org
www.ifrc.org
Saving lives, changing minds.
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