Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-45l2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T04:15:27.068Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Regulating the Helping Hand: Improving Legal Preparedness for Cross-Border Disaster Medicine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

David Fisher
David Fisher*
Affiliation:
Coordinator, International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles Programme, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
*
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, PO Box 372, 1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland E-mail: David.Fisher@ifrc.org
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Medical care is a highly regulated field in nearly every country. Therefore, it is not surprising that legal issues regularly arise in cross-border disaster operations that have with the potential to profoundly impact the effectiveness of international assistance. Little attention has been paid to preparing for and addressing these kinds of issues. This paper will report on research by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on International Disaster Response Law, and discuss new developments in the international legal framework for addressing these issues.

For seven years, the IFRC has studied legal issues in cross-border disaster assistance. Its activities have included several dozen case studies, a global survey of governments and humanitarian stakeholders, and a series of meetings and high-level conferences.

The IFRC has found a consistent set of regulatory problems in major disaster relief operations related to the entry and regulation of international relief. These include some issues specific to the health field, such as the regulation of drug donations and the recognition of foreign medical qualifications. To address the gaps in domestic and international regulatory structures, the IFRC spearheaded the development of new international guidelines.

The legal risks for international health providers in disaster settings are real and should be better integrated into program planning. Governments must become more proactive in ensuring that legal frameworks are flexible enough to mitigate these problems.

Keywords

disaster reliefinternationalInternational Disaster Response Laws Rules and Principles ProgrammeInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societieslegal preparednessliabilitynongovernmental organizationsregulation
Type
Special Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , June 2010 , pp. 208 - 212
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC): IDRL Desk Study. Available at at www.ifrc.org/Docs/pub/idrl/desk-study/113600-idrl-deskstudy-en.pdf. Accessed 20 May 2009.Google Scholar
2.IFRC: IDRL Desk Study; Appendix 3. Available at at www.ifrc.org/Docs/pub/idrl/desk-study/113600-idrl-deskstudy-en.pdf. Accessed 20 May 2009.Google Scholar
3.IFRC: Report of the Americas Forum on International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles (IDRL). Available at http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/pubs/idrl/idrlamforum-finalreport-en.pdf. Accessed 20 May 2009.Google Scholar
4.IFRC: Report of the Pan-African Forum on International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles (IDRL). Available at http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/pubs/idrl/idrlpanafrican-freport.pdf. Accessed 20 May 2009.Google Scholar
5.IFRC: Report of the Asia-Pacific IDRL Forum. Available at http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/pubs/idrl/idrl-apf-rfinal.pdf. Accessed 20 May 2009.Google Scholar
6.IFRC: European Forum on International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles (IDRL) Report, Antalya, Turkey, 25-26 May 2006. Available at http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/pubs/idrl/euro-forum-freport.pdf. Accessed 20 May 2009.Google Scholar
7.IFRC: Report of the Middle East Forum on International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles (IDRL). Available at http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/pubs/idrl/me-forum-report.pdf. Accessed 20 May 2009.Google Scholar
8.Bannon, V: Nepal: Laws, Policies, Planning and Practices on International Disaster Response. IFRC, 2005, p23.Google Scholar
9.Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications, at art. 7 (Official Journal L 255, 30/09/2005, at 2).Google Scholar
10.Richards, A: Role Reversal: Offers for Help from Other Countries in Response to Hurricane Katrina. Center for Transatlantic Relations: 2006, pp 19–20.Google Scholar
11.Costa, D: Legal Issues from the International Response to 2007 Floods in Bolivia. IFRC: 2008, p 20.Google Scholar
12.Chance, M: Legal Issues in the International Response the Tsunami in Thailand. IFRC: 2006, p 16.Google Scholar
13.Goodman, P: For Tsunani Survivors, a Touch of Scientology. Washington Post, 28 January 2005.Google Scholar
14.IFRC: Report of the Americas Regional Forum on International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles, Panama City, Panama, April 23-24, 2007, p14.Google Scholar
15.United States Defense Threats Reduction Agency, Foreign Consequence Management Legal Deskbook (2007), at section 4-4.Google Scholar
16.Bambaren, C: Legal Issues in the Humanitarian Assistance in the Earthquake of Pisco, Peru 2007, paper delivered to the 16th World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine, Victoria, Canada, 12-14 May 2009.Google Scholar
17.Bannon, V: Legal Issues from the International Response to the Tsunami in Indonesia. IFRC: 2006, p 33.Google Scholar
18.Hogerzeil, HV, Couper, MR, Gray, R: Guidelines for drug donations. BMJ 1997;314(7082):737–740.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed