Armenian Red Cross launches legal review to build resilience in Yerevan

News
Tessa Kelly
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Located in one of the most active seismic zones in the world,  Armenia has experienced some of the most devastating earthquakes in recorded history.  It’s no wonder that Armenian Red Cross Society is looking at new and innovative ways to reduce risk and build resilience in its most populated city.

On October 14th, the Armenian Red Cross Society (ARCS) became the first National Society to launch an urban disaster law project, seeking to review the legal framework for reducing disaster risk in Yerevan and determine how it might be strengthened.  Edmon Azaryan, head of disaster management for ARCS, explained: “We hope that this project will give us a better understanding of the existing laws and rules in Yerevan, and what we can be doing to address any gaps as well as increase implementation of what is already out there.  Through promoting better awareness and implementation of rights and obligations in the legal framework, we hope to contribute to making Yerevan a safer, more resilient city to live in.”

The project was launched by Armenian RC at a meeting of Armenia’s National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, with representatives from a wide range of government ministries UN agencies and non-governmental organisations . The two researchers for the project, Gurgen Boshyan and Samvel Arakelyan, introduced some of its objectives to the platform members and sought their input for moving forward. Participants noted that clear challenges to be tackled by the project will be revising outdated legislation, as well as promoting better awareness and implementation of existing laws that regulate safe construction and risk reduction practices.

The project will be undertaken over a five month period, and will include both desk research and consultation components. One of the expected outcomes will be the identification of key advocacy messages for Armenian RC, and the National DRR platform, to take forward to strengthen both the development of the legal framework and its implementation.  It has been made possible thanks to support from the European Union Directorate for Humanitarian Assistance (ECHO).   

The project also builds upon work already undertaken as part of a pilot study on urban risk reduction in Yerevan, one of five city-level pilot studies being supported globally by the IFRC and the Iranian Red Crescent to field test how Red Cross and Red Crescent tools and guidelines apply to the urban environment and to explore new opportunities and directions for programming in urban environments.