In January 2012, the IFRC, in cooperation with the Haitian Red Cross Society, published the report IDRL in Haiti - A study on the legal framework for the facilitation and regulation of international disaster response in Haiti. The report provides recommendations to the Haitian Government on how to strengthen its legal framework for international disaster response, particularly in the light of the 2010 earthquake and the massive international response operation that followed. Some of these recommendations are currently being considered for implementation by the Haitian Government.
Ms Escauriaza, working in cooperation with the Haitian Red Cross, will provide support to the Government on the numerous legal initiatives touching on IDRL currently underway in the country. These include the amendment of existing legislation on customs, telecommunications and medicines, among others. Ms Escauriaza will advocate for legal preparedness for disaster response and support the development of the necessary additional legal instruments aimed at ensuring the effective facilitation and regulation of incoming international relief.
In her role as disaster law delegate, Ms Escauriaza will also disseminate legal and policy instruments among national stakeholders to build capacity and raise awareness about the importance of disaster law in Haiti. She will also build partnerships with key stakeholders including the UN and other international organisations and NGOs in order to ensure a coordinated approach on disaster law.
Before joining the team in Haiti, Ms Escauriaza worked for VERTIC in London, where she provided advice and support to governments on the development of legislation and instruments necessary to prohibit and prevent the proliferation of weapons. She holds an LL.B. in European Law from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, and an LL.M. in Public International Law, Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law from the University of Westminster in London.