With the adoption of a new, comprehensive law on disaster management in 2007, followed by the development of a regulation and guideline targeted specifically at the involvement of international institutions and foreign NGOs, Indonesia is now among the most legally prepared states in Asia to facilitate and regulate international disaster assistance.
More than five years on from the passage of Indonesia’s landmark disaster management law (Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 24 of 2007 concerning Disaster Management), the government is planning a review of the current legal framework. In the lead up to this review, the IFRC has been working with the Indonesian Red Cross (Palang Merah Indonesia, or ‘PMI’) on new research examining the implementation of the legal framework to date. The study also seeks to identify the impact of changes to the legal framework on international assistance in two major disasters: the 2009 earthquake in Padang, and the 2010 eruption of Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta.
A consultation workshop was convened in Jakarta last month, hosted by PMI and Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Authority (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana or ‘BNPB’) with support from the IFRC, to discuss the draft IDRL study and identify key issues around the implementation of the law. The workshop involved forty participants from key government departments (including BNPB, customs and foreign affairs), international and regional humanitarian organisations, civil society and non-government organizations, and international donors.
Lively and candid discussions were facilitated by PMI Secretary General, Pak Budi Adiputro, and the Head of BNPB’s Bureau for Legal Affairs and Cooperation, Pak R. Sugiharto, who highlighted the need to review the current framework and its implementation. Representing the IFRC’s Disaster Law Programme, Ms. Lucia Cipullo delivered presentations on IDRL and the findings of the Indonesia IDRL impact study, and facilitated discussions around the key issues and recommendations contained in the report. Throughout the workshop, participants were highly engaged in open discussion, sharing anecdotes of challenges faced and examples of good practice based on their wealth of experience in the field. The experiences and feedback shared at the workshop will serve to enhance the findings of the study and contribute to the wider dialogue on improving disaster management and response in Indonesia.
Much emphasis was placed during the workshop discussions on ensuring dissemination and socialisation of the legal framework among all relevant stakeholders, in order for the law and ancillary regulations to be effectively implemented. These sentiments were echoed by several participants, including a representative from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID – a key donor for the IDRL Indonesia study) who remarked that “We talk about devising new laws when we are not even fully implementing the existing ones yet; we should focus on the dissemination and practical application of the existing law – which is already very good!”
The workshop and the current research undertaken by IFRC and PMI form part of the continued support provided by the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement in the development and strengthening of Indonesia’s legal framework for disaster management and response. It is hoped that the recommendations contained in the IDRL report and the outcomes of the workshop discussions will feed into the upcoming legal review process, and in turn contribute to enhancing Indonesia preparedness to receive and coordinate international relief in the event of a large scale disaster.
A full report of the workshop is available here, and publication of the IDRL Indonesia impact study is planned for later in 2013.