In March 2017, the Jamaica Red Cross held a multi-stakeholder consultation with a view to identifying specific regulatory requirements that could strengthen the facilitation and regulation of incoming disaster assistance. Consultations were held with key state organizations such as ODPEM, the Office of the Prime Minister, Jamaica Customs and the Ministry of National Security.
The consultation came a few years after the Jamaica Red Cross pioneered a study on International Disaster Response Law, Rules and Principles in the Caribbean. The study was co-facilitated by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, and involved an extensive review of national laws, regulations, plans and procedures, as well as interviews with key stakeholders.
Among the findings of the report emerged several issues relating to the facilitation and regulation of international disaster assistance. These included the ad hoc granting of waivers on importation fees for relief goods, and no clear entry points for communication or coordination within established disaster management systems. What was missing in all of this was a comprehensive legal framework to effectively facilitate and regulate these procedures.
In order to address these issues in the future, new regulatory provisions were discussed at the workshop which were based on recommendations from the Model Act on International Disaster Assistance and the model regulations developed by the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency. Provisions from both models were used as a reference, but adapted to reflect local conditions and considerations.
The regulatory provisions that were discussed at the workshop are a critical and important element in producing effective disaster relief coordination. Yet stakeholders recognized that these provisions will only be as effective as the implementation strategies that are developed and implemented contiguously with the regulations themselves. For this reason, participants recommended that robust public education initiatives should accompany the implementation of the regulations, and should target donors and beneficiaries. It was agreed that an emphasis should also be placed on the quality and impact of humanitarian relief, and the need to ensure that such relief meets with national standards. This includes engaging in public discourse on reasonable accountability requirements for disaster relief personnel.
Following the workshop, Jamaican Red Cross will continue its support to ODPEM and other key stakeholders within the disaster management system to achieve the implementation of the revised recommendations in order to enhance Jamaica’s legal framework for international disaster relief.