The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held its annual “Humanitarian Affairs Segment” in New York from July 13-15, focusing on issues of coordination, preparedness, urban vulnerability, and humanitarian security.
Among the points raised by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in his report to that body on the coordination of humanitarian assistance (Doc. No. A/65/82-E/2010/88) was the increasing cooperation between the UN and the IFRC in encouraging and supporting states to make use of the IDRL Guidelines.
In their concluding resolution on “Strengthening of the coordination of the emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations” ECOSOC’s member states welcomed progress with the IDRL Guidelines and reiterated their call from prior resolutions for states and regional organizations to strengthen their legal preparedness for international disaster relief:
“The Economic and Social Council . . .
[w]elcomes the initiatives undertaken at the regional and national levels in relation to the implementation of 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 from 26 to 30 November 2007, and encourages Member States and, where applicable, regional organizations to take further steps to strengthen operational and legal frameworks for international disaster relief, taking into account, as appropriate, these Guidelines”
“We are glad to see that ECOSOC member states are keeping this important issue on the agenda,” noted Marwan Jilani, Head of the IFRC’s New York Delegation. “This ongoing international attention is very helpful for the champions of disaster preparedness at the domestic level, both in government and civil society.”