On July 20-22, 2009, the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) conducted its annual humanitarian segment, addressing a number of themes, including humanitarian coordination and the implementation guiding principles of humanitarian assistance.
In her official statement, IFRC Under-Secretary General for Disaster Response and Early Recovery Yasemin Aysan underlined the IFRC’s collaboration with states seeking to improve their regulatory systems for receiving international disaster assistance. On behalf of the European Union, Sweden emphasized the importance of the IDRL Guidelines as a means to build states’ capacity in this area. The critical role of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in general was also repeatedly raised.
At the end of its session, ECOSOC adopted a resolution, which “encourages Member States and, where applicable, relevant regional organizations to strengthen operational and legal frameworks for international disaster relief, taking into account, as appropriate, the Guidelines for the Domestic Facilitation and Regulation of International Disaster Relief and Initial Recovery Assistance, adopted at the thirtieth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent held in Geneva in November 2007.”