On August 17-18, officials from the five Central Asian states and their National Societies met with UN agencies and other interested stakeholders in Astana, Kazakhstan for their second regional conference on IDRL. Convened by the IFRC, UN OCHA and UNDP and hosted by the Government and Red Crescent Society of Kazakhstan, the Conference gathered representatives of multiple ministries and backgrounds to look to the progress that has been made in the region in strengthening legal preparedness for international disaster assistance since the first conference held in 2009 and to make plans for the future.
"Time is passing in Kazakhstan," observed Kazakhstan Red Crescent Society President Dr. Yerkebek Argembaev, "and the threat of a massive earthquake in the southern and eastern parts of the country -- where up to a million people might be affected -- is slowly growing. We may need international assistance to face such an event."
To address this, the Kazakhstan Red Crescent Society undertook a study with support from the IFRC last year to assist national authorities to assess domestic law in light of the IDRL Guidelines. Some of the recommendations of that study have been incorporated in a bill currently pending to update and consolidate Kazakhstan's laws on civil defense. Participants also heard about similar projects currently underway in Tajikistan, led by UNDP with support from the IFRC and the Tajikistan Red Crescent and Kyzgyzstan, where UNDP and the Kyrgyzstan Red Crescent have both undertaken IDRL research.
Participants reaffirmed the need to continue to strengthen regional disaster cooperation, include through rationalizing the many regional agreements currently in force on this issue. It was also suggested that the momentum that has been built on IDRL issues in Central Asia should also be shared with other regions, including other members of the CIS. At the close of the workshop, each country delegation also developed a plan of action for moving forward on IDRL domestically.