General site search

Dr Fawzi is the Head of International Relations and International Law at the Qatar Red Crescent. Dr Fawzi has been a prominent advocate for International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles (IDRL) in the Gulf region in the past few years, and even more so recently.

On 29 February, the Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) cooperated with the Office of the Prime Minister in their first joint training on disaster law. It gathered representatives of the Lebanese government, including legal advisers of several ministries, civil defence forces, the Internal Security Forces and representatives of the provincial and governorate authorities.  

Israel has known more than its share of humanitarian emergencies, primarily due to conflicts and terrorist attacks. Increasingly, however, the Israeli Magen David Adom (IMDA) and Israeli authorities are also worrying about future natural disasters and international disaster response laws rules and principles (IDRL). We interviewed Chaim Rafalowski, IMDA’s Disaster Management and EU Projects Coordinator  to learn more.

The University of Reading’s School of Law is about to launch what can be considered the first disaster law master’s programme.

Over the last year, the Spanish Red Cross and the Complutense University of Madrid have been collaborating on a study of the regulation and coordination of Spanish actors involved in international humanitarian assistance. As part of this process, on February 9th, they convened a workshop of governmental and non-govern-mental agencies to discuss both domestic and international systems of humanitarian coordination.

April 8 was an exceptional day in the life of the Polish Red Cross. Working with our partners in the Polish National Security Bureau (BBN), we convened our country’s first workshop on the issue of the legal facilitation of international disaster relief.

Although not often in the news, Central Asia is a region that suffers greatly from the effects of disasters. These range from ravaging floods, mudslides and landslides, to shattering earthquakes and avalanches. Situated within the region is the rugged, landlocked country of Kyrgyzstan, residing in an active seismic zone, and at significant risk of disasters.

In May, more than sixty representatives from government, parliament, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, UN agencies and NGOs met at the UN House in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to mull over a new draft law on “International Humanitarian Aid in Emergency Situations”.  

The Disaster Law Programme has now published, for the first time in its English translation, a report commissioned by the Kazakhstan Red Crescent with support from the IFRC and the Norwegian Red Cross analysing Kazakhstan’s legal preparedness for international disaster assistance.