In 2007, the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent adopted the Guidelines for the domestic facilitation and regulation of international disaster relief and initial recovery assistance (the “IDRL Guidelines”). The Guidelines were developed after six years of research and consultations by the IFRC revealed a consistent set of regulatory problems in international relief operations, resulting from a lack of clear rules at the domestic level. Drawing on existing international norms and global experience, the IDRL Guidelines provide recommendations as to how states can strengthen their own laws, rules and procedures to avoid regulatory problems in disasters.
In this third progress report, the IFRC observes that 23 countries have adopted new laws, rules or procedures drawing on the IDRL Guidelines. Over a dozen more have bills or draft rules currently pending. In addition, a number of global and regional organizations have made use of the IDRL Guidelines to develop or strengthen regional mechanisms for international disaster cooperation. For their part, numerous National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have been active in supporting their authorities to make use of the IDRL Guidelines and the IFRC has developed a number of fruitful partnerships to help support their dissemination.
While this level of progress appears to compare favourably with that of similar guidance documents, it still means that many states have yet to adopt comprehensive rules to manage international relief in future operations. Moreover, recent research indicates that regulatory problems continue to burden international operations. Stakeholders have therefore suggested that methods be explored to accelerate progress, including the possibility of further strengthening regional and global legal frameworks for international disaster cooperation.
For more information, see: Ready or not? Third progress report on the implementation of the Guidelines for the domestic facilitation and regulation of international disaster relief and initial recovery assistance (November 2015)