The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has published new guidance for domestic authorities who want to review and strengthen disaster laws and regulations. The Handbook on Disaster Law Reform and the Disaster Risk Governance Guidelines have been designed to support governments in creating strong legal arrangements for comprehensive disaster risk management. The Handbook provides an eight-step legal review process, while the Guidelines offer a benchmarking tool through a checklist process relating to key disaster themes, such as prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. The checklists enable users to identify each topic’s key legal and practical issues. Both tools can be used to review a country’s disaster laws, policies, and plans for targeted law or policy reform. The IFRC recommends a three-step process for assessing existing laws, policies, and plans, strengthening implementation, and improving the knowledge and capacities of DRM actors. These tools aim to ensure that disaster laws, policies, and plans are effectively designed and implemented to strengthen legal arrangements in any national context.
The Checklist on Law and Disaster Risk Reduction
The Checklist on Law and Disaster Preparedness and Response