The International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent brings together representatives of the states parties to the Geneva Conventions, Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), every four years.
The International Conference is a non-political forum for dialogue on humanitarian matters of common interest and has a longstanding role as one of the key international meetings for dialogue on the strengthening of disaster laws, policies and plans.
Every International Conference since 2007 has adopted a resolution relevant to disaster law, including several resolutions which adopt or endorse guidance documents developed by IFRC Disaster Law.
Between the 28-31 October 2024, in Geneva, Switzerland, the 34th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent was held with the theme, Navigate Uncertainty – Strengthen Humanity.
Resolution 3 of the 34th International Conference (2024), Strengthening disaster risk governance through comprehensive legal and regulatory frameworks, was adopted and encourages States to strengthen disaster risk governance as an indispensable element for effectively managing disasters and disaster risk. It recognizes the new state-of-the-art recommendations –Guidelines on Disaster Risk Governance: Strengthening Laws, Policies and Plans for Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management.
A blog from Isabelle Granger, Lead, Disaster Law and Auxiliary Role, IFRC and Jeanique Serradinho, Disaster Law Coordinator for Southern Africa, IFRC on the resolution can be found here.
Earlier key resolutions relevant to disaster law are listed below.
Final goal 3.2 of the 28th International Conference (2003) was to “enhance international disaster response through support for the compilation and application of the laws, rules and principles applicable to international disaster response”.
Resolution 4 of the 30th International Conference (2007) adopted the IDRL Guidelines and encouraged States to make use of the Guidelines to strengthen their national legal, policy and institutional frameworks as well as when developing, if appropriate, bilateral and regional disaster assistance agreements.
Resolution 7 of the 31st International Conference (2011) called on States that have not already made use of the IDRL Guidelines to do so by examining and, where appropriate, strengthening their national legal, policy and/or institutional frameworks, and further called on States to review their existing legislative frameworks at all levels to assess whether they adequately address disaster risk reduction.
Resolution 6 of the 32nd International Conference (2015) endorsed The Checklist on Law and Disaster Risk Reduction and invited States to use the Checklist to evaluate and improve the content and implementation of their laws, regulations and public policies related to disaster risk reduction.
Resolution 7 of the 33rd International Conference (2019) endorsed The Checklist on Law and Disaster Preparedness and Response and invited States to use the Checklist to evaluate and improve the content and implementation of their laws, regulations and policies.