REGIONAL COOPERATION ON DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN THE ASIA PACIFIC

Disasters and International Law in the Asia-Pacific Workshop

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Disaster law

• International– UN Resolution 46/182;– Draft Articles on the Protection of Persons in

the Event of Disasters.• Domestic

– IFRC - Guidelines for the Domestic Facilitation and Regulation of International Disaster Relief and Initial Recovery Assistance

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Question

• Is it really about law, and in particular international law, or about pre-existing pre drilled relationships?

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International law

• NGOs arise out of necessity– Tas Fires Can we Help– Blaze Aid– Christchurch Student Army

• NGOs are not the subjects of international law.

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Relying on Law

• “no plan survives contact with the enemy”• Plans do work, but not, by definition, in a

disaster, that’s what makes it a disaster.• Can lead to a focus on compliance and an

expectation that everyone will follow the law or the plan and as we’ve been told communities don’t and neither do disasters.

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‘nothing for community without community’ • Australian National Strategy for Disaster

Resilience anticipates resilient communities but it’s not looking to law.

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Tasmania Fire Service 6 priorities:

• Warn the community• Protect vulnerable people• Protect key community assets• Stop the spread of fire in built–up areas • Protect other community assets• Fight the fire

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Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission

• Save life as first priority• Now leading to self help fire fighting as

they want to set different priorities.

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Law - ASEAN

• ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (2002).

• ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (2005).

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Relationships

• US/Canada/Australia/NZ cooperative fire fighting.

• FRANZ agreement• PIEMA - Pacific Islands Emergency

Management Alliance

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PIEMA - Pacific Islands Emergency Management Alliance between:• Pacific Islands National Disaster

Management Offices (NDMOs), • Pacific Islands Fire and Emergency

Services Association (PIFESA), • Members of the Australasian Fire and

Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) and

• the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police.

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Today ‘twinning’ with the fire services continues

AFAC PIFSA

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services PNG

NSW Fire and Rescue Solomon Islands and Vanuatu

ACT Rural Fire Service Kiribati

Victoria Country Fire Authority Tuvalu and Fiji

Victoria Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Service Board Samoa

Tasmania Fire Service Nauru

South Australia Metropolitan Fire Service Tonga

New Zealand Fire Service Cook Islands and Niue

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