Leaders of the five National Red Cross Societies of East Asia met in Macau in December for their annual Leadership Meeting to discuss progress on a number of key issues, including follow up on IDRL.
National Societies reflected on their auxiliary role to national authorities, observing that while most were officially recognised in national disaster management legislation, there was still room for further clarification about specific roles and mandates, which could be facilitated through discussions with governments on IDRL.
However, they also noted that governments in the region were often reluctant to consider international assistance. They requested the IFRC to support them in their dialogues with their authorities, including by organizing a regional meeting of governments and National Societies to discuss the key issues.