The report contains a ground-breaking analysis of the legal provisions supporting national and regional preparedness and response mechanisms in the domestic laws of 10 ASEAN member states. The legal mapping was guided by the minimum standards set in the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER). It is accompanied by an online platform hosted on the Red Cross and Red Crescent Resilience Library.
Mr. Vilayphong Sisomvang, Deputy Director General of the Lao PDR Ministry of Labor, spoke on behalf of the ACDM Prevention and Mitigation Working Group and explained how pleased he was to see the strong collaboration between ASEAN member states, the ASEAN Secretariat and the IFRC on this initiative. Mr. Sisomyang encouraged participating agencies to use the mapping as a basis for cross-regional learning to strengthen legal preparedness and response for future disasters in the region. He also expressed the importance of this legal mapping to the ongoing review and strengthening of Lao PDR’s own disaster management frameworks.
This initiative was supported by the Canadian Red Cross and the Canadian Government, through a ‘Regional Resilience Initiative’ which will be culminating at the end of 2018. During the event, the Government of Canada representative, Ms. Sharon Armstrong, Director for Development of the Embassy of Canada to Indonesia and ASEAN, emphasized the importance of strong disaster laws in resilience building.
At the close of the launch, Mr. Giorgio Ferrario, IFRC’s Representative to Indonesia, Timor Leste and ASEAN, reiterated IFRC’s commitment to building a more resilient Southeast Asia, and underscored the important foundation that inclusive laws and policies play in regard to community resilience building. He also highlighted how this initiative will form an important part of the ASEAN Coalition for Resilience, which aims at making 100 million people more resilient in ASEAN countries by 2025, and as a direct contribution to the IFRC global ‘One Billion Coalition for Resilience’.
The ASEAN Disaster Law Mapping, including the Regional Stocktake and Country Profiles are available to read online.