Strengthening disaster laws was one of the key issues addressed at the 8th Asia-Pacific Regional Red Cross Crescent Red conference was convened at the Dead Sea in Jordan on October 18-20. Convened under the slogan “Saving lives, changing minds” and held under the patronage of Jordan’s King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein, the event gathered more than 160 delegates from 50 countries.
At the outset of the conference, a press briefing, featuring the president and secretary-general of the IFRC and the president of the Jordanian Red Crescent among other speakers, was organized to launch a new advocacy report, “Disasters in Asia: the Case for Legal Preparedness”. The report outlines some of the key legal challenges in disaster mitigation and response in Asia and how three National Red Cross Societies are working with their governments to overcome them.
“Nature alone does not cause disasters; disasters result when natural events touch the lives of vulnerable people,” pointed out IFRC President Tadateru Konoé. “Good laws reduce that vulnerability by providing the Red Cross and Red Crescent, its volunteers and other humanitarian actors the space and the access required to do our job well.” IFRC Secretary-General Bekele Geleta issued a call to media representatives to help the IFRC to bring its message about the need for better legal preparedness to the attention of governments.
Click here to read the report and here to watch the video
During the conference, participants debated how to improve their advocacy around key humanitarian issues, including disaster management. A special working group was organized to share strategies for developing effective disaster legislation and for improving the enforcement of key existing laws, such as building codes. They also discussed potential topics for the 31st International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, upcoming in 2011. As in the past International Conference, it was suggested that disaster law issues should continue to play an important role there.
In the Conference’s outcome document, the “Amman Commitment,” participating National Societies pledged to increase their own knowledge and understanding of IDRL and to increase their work in advocating for stronger disaster management legislation.