The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) has long fostered regional cooperation among its members. On 3-5 October, SADC collaborated with the Botswana Red Cross Society and the IFRC to explore a new aspect of such cooperation, the improvement of legal preparedness for disasters in the region. “Looking at today’s developments, perhaps it is time to consider an instrument to address border-crossing disaster assistance. This event is a good occasion to start deliberating such an instrument” said Dr. Teodosio Uate, Head of SADC’s Legal Affairs Unit as he welcomed the participants.
Over the course of 3 days, some 50 government lawyers, disaster management officials and Red Cross and Red Crescent delegates learned about existing international norms pertaining to international disaster cooperation and assessed their domestic legal frameworks in this respect. During the discussions, many delegations reported challenges with the importation and distribution of humanitarian goods in past disasters. However, some countries, such as Tanzania and Malawi, also reported being in the process of developing or revising their disaster management legislation. During a dedicated panel, representatives from Mozambique, Namibia and Uganda reported on the positive experience of Red Cross and government collaboration in the field of legislating for disaster situations. In Namibia, this collaboration has already led to the adoption of a new Disaster Risk Management Act that addresses the issue of international cooperation in disasters.
Speaking on behalf of Botswana’s Attorney General’s Office, Stephen Tiroyakgosi pointed out that disasters do not respect international borders, and argued that legislation in this field is a necessity for Southern Africa. All delegations present developed preliminary plans to address this issue in their home countries. As for the regional level, it was recommended that SADC Member States, with support from the IFRC, explore the development of a protocol on disaster law for the region.