Participants from line ministries, UN agencies, NGOs and the media joined members of the IDRL Pilot Project task force to consider the preliminary findings of the project’s research on the legal framework for the regulation of international disaster assistance.
Participants acknowledged a number of gaps in Sierra Leone’s current legal framework with regard to international disaster assistance. In this regard Mye Kamara, Director of the ONS Department of Disaster Management, noted that many countries neither have the necessary laws in place nor show willingness to admit that they might need outside help in the future. She assured participants that this would not be the case in Sierra Leone. For his part, Sierra Leone Red Cross Secretary-General Emmanuel Tommy emphasized that climate change was increasing the potential for such rules to be needed.
Participants provided detailed suggestions concerning the preliminary findings, which will be integrated into a comprehensive final report as a basis for new legislation.