In December 2010 IFRC and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) joined forces to advocate for the implementation of the IDRL Guidelines in the West Africa region. This development flows from a broader partnership between the two organisations.
IFRC and ECOWAS have been engaged in dialogue on cooperation in disaster management matters since 2007. The exchange began when the ECOWAS secretariat was looking to establish a regional disaster management response mechanism and indicated its interest in working with Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies to that end. IFRC involved ECOWAS in various events to build the partnership, including an IDRL workshop in 2009, amongst others. After three years of negotiation, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Abuja, Nigeria on 11 March 2010, by Dr. A. Diop, ECOWAS Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, and Alasan Senghore, IFRC Director for the Africa Zone.
The MoU provides for the development of joint advocacy on issues of mutual interest, as well as the strengthening of partnerships between ECOWAS member states and their countries’ Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies as auxiliaries to the public authorities in the humanitarian field. As set out in the MoU, this collaboration “accelerates work towards the solution of such challenges as diseases, natural disasters, environmental challenges including climate change adaptation, the humanitarian consequences of migration and violence in urban settings”. International Disaster Response Law is a natural field of cooperation for the two organisations in this context.
Championing legal preparedness for the facilitation and regulation of cross-border assistance is a prime example of how IFRC and ECOWAS can work together to improve the lives of people affected by disasters in West Africa. It is also an area in which both national societies and IFRC have a unique expertise. ECOWAS, due to its strong political role in the region, is the ideal forum for states to gain access to this expertise as well as to develop a regional approach to common regulatory issues in disaster response.
In March, representatives of the IFRC Africa Zone Office met with staff members from the Office of the Director of ECOWAS’ Humanitarian Affairs Department to discuss the possibilities of collaboration in the field of IDRL. An agreement was reached for the two organizations to co-host a three-day IDRL training course for Directors of Disaster Management agencies of the ECOWAS member states, their Red Cross and Red Crescent counterparts and other stakeholders in the region. The workshop, which will take place this summer in Dakar, will be co-hosted by ECOWAS and facilitated by IFRC. The aim of the workshop is to promote a shared understanding and foster collaboration on legal issues affecting humanitarian operations among the participants. Ultimately, it is hoped that the workshop will contribute to the development of a common plan of action for the ECOWAS member states and their national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for improved legal preparedness at the national and regional levels.