Several European National Red Cross Societies and their governments have begun to make good on their commitment at the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent to work together to examine national legal frameworks for international disaster response.
Bulgaria
On March 28th, representatives of the Bulgarian Red Cross Society (BRCS) met with officials of the Ministry of State Policy for Disasters and Accidents to discuss follow-up on the 30th International Conference.
The Ministry representatives affirmed that the significant increase in the frequency and seriousness of disasters affecting Bulgaria underlined the need to implement the IDRL Guidelines. “They pointed to the experience from the last serious floods in 2005 as an example of the paramount importance of good coordination,” said Margarita Dimitrova, Head of the BRCS Legal Department.
Expressing their satisfaction with the strong cooperation between the BRCS and the Ministry, the participants agreed to draw up detailed steps for the implementation of the Guidelines to be including in their annual plan for joint activities.
Germany
On April 22nd, the German Foreign Ministry and Committee for Disaster Reduction organized a seminar in Berlin for German officials and disaster management experts on the Rosersberg Initiative, an inter-governmental project to develop a global framework for cooperation in environmental emergencies
The German Red Cross Society was invited to speak to the group about the IDRL Guidelines as a recent example of international standard building in this area
“The audience was quite impressed by the comprehensiveness of the Guidelines and their strong endorsement by governments and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement at the 30th International Conference,” said Heike Spieker, Head of the International Law and Institutions Department at the German Red Cross Society.
Norway
Also on April 22nd, the Norwegian Parliament discussed the government’s white paper on the prevention of humanitarian disasters, released in December.
In its comments to the foreign ministry, the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs expressed its concern about situations where “lifesaving assistance is stopped at the border of a country struck by a disaster due to domestic legislation hindering quick response” and called on the government to pro-mote legal preparedness. The foreign ministry expressed its intention to support the use of the IDRL Guidelines.