Good legislation is critical to reducing disaster and climate risks. Law can set the stage for early warning, financing, community empowerment and accountability – or it can obscure and obstruct the necessary steps.
Laws and regulations serve as a foundation for building community resilience. They are essential to reducing existing risks posed by natural hazards, preventing new risks from arising and making people safer. In 2005, the Hyogo Framework for Action highlighted the importance of good legislation to support disaster risk reduction (DRR). The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, adopted in March 2015, calls for a renewed focus on reviewing and strengthening legal frameworks.
In light of this international guidance, many countries have sought to strengthen their laws and regulations for DRR and have been asking: what should good legislation say about DRR?
Since 2012, The IFRC and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have been working on a joint project to research, compare and consult on the efforts of various countries to strengthen how their laws support the reduction of disaster risks, particularly at the community level. In June 2014, they launched a major new study examining 31 countries and in December 2015, they launched a new tool, The Checklist on Law and Disaster Risk Reduction and its accompanying guide, The Handbook on Law and Disaster Risk Reduction, to provide practical guidance on this area of law.
Quick links
33rd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent
o Draft resolution (33IC/19/12.5DR) (also available in French, Spanish and Arabic)
o Background document (33IC/19/12.5) (also available in French, Spanish and Arabic)
o Annex: The Checklist on Law and Disaster Preparedness and Response (also available in French, Spanish and Arabic)
International Disaster Law Course, San Remo
Disaster law tools
Key disaster law issues
- Legislation for disaster risk reduction
- International disaster response laws, rules and principles (IDRL)
- Law and volunteering in emergencies
- Law and first aid
- Law and policy on gender and protection from sexual and gender-based violence
- Regulatory barriers to emergency and transitional shelter
- Leave No One Behind
Research toolbox
Training toolbox
Case Studies
- A seat at the table: inclusive decision-making to strengthen local resilience
- From law to action: Saving lives through International Disaster Response Law
- Samoa: Strengthening Protection, Gender and Inclusion in Disaster Law
- Disaster Law in Action: Uganda Case Study
- Disaster Law in Action: Malawi Case Study
Press releases
News stories
Pacific small island states are among the most exposed and vulnerable in the world to disaster and climate risk. In fact, five of the ten most at-risk countries are in the Pacific. Every year, tens of thousands of people across the region are pu …
The seventh edition of the International Disaster Law Course will take place in San Remo, Italy, from 1 to 5 June 2020. The course is jointly organized by the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in collaboration with the International Federatio …
Disasters caused by natural and technological hazards are a commonplace phenomenon causing extensive negative impacts as exemplified by the World Disasters Report elaborated by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) …
There is growing momentum in Asia Pacific towards regional approaches for disaster management and response. Many governments are increasingly seeing the value of working in collaboration and examining the possibility of revising governance frameworks a …
See more news stories
News archive
Archive of disaster law news stories from our old website.
Related documents
See more at the Disaster law document library
This report studies the facilitation and regulation of international humanitarian assistance at the time of disasters as governed by the legal and Institutional framework in place in Sudan. The study is informed by the “Guidelines for the domestic faci …
This study was commissioned by the IFRC as part of the global initiative on “Effective law and policy for addressing child protection in disaster risk management” and implemented by Uganda Red Cross Society. The overall goal for the study was to assess …
La “Lista de verificación sobre la facilitación y la regulación de la asistencia internacional de socorro en casos de desastre y recuperación inicial” (la “Lista de verificación IDRL”), se ha desarrollado como una herramienta complementaria para ayudar …
Document archive
Archive of disaster law publications from our old website. Please bear with us as we bring the documents onto our new platform.
