Philippine Red Cross pledge on Strengthening Legal Frameworks for Disaster Response, Risk Reduction and First Aid

ln accordance with the pledges and resolutions adopted by the Philippine Red Cross and Government of the Philippines at previous lnternational Conferences of the Red Cross Red Crescent; considering the new Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), which outlines the need to develop, strengthen and implement legal frameworks for disaster risk reduction and response at the national and local levels; and acknowledging all of the significant progress undertaken on disaster law in the Philippines, including the ongoing revision of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act from 2010;
Philippine Red Cross hereby pledge:

• To cooperate in ensuring effective development and implementation of domestic laws and policies relevant to emergency and disaster risk management;
•  To provide our support to other countries, National Societies and humanitarian partners in our region that are interested in assessing and strengthening their laws on emergency and disaster risk management;
• To build our capacity and understanding of disaster law themes through [joint] training and capacity building initiatives.

Accelerating progress in the facilitation and regulation of international disaster response (IDRL):

• To cooperate with other stakeholders in developing, reviewing and strengthening our laws and procedures for managing international disaster response, drawing on the ,,Guidelines for the domestic facilitation and regulation of international disaster relief and initial recovery asslstance” (IDRL Guidelines);
• To support peer to peer learning on IDRL at the regional and global level; . To cooperate in disseminating information about the most valuable contributions in the event of major disasters and to discourage unnecessary or Inappropriate in-kind donations;
• To support and participate in the relevant national forums or inter-agency mechanisms to plan for the facilitation and regulation of international disaster response.

Strengthening laws for disaster risk reduction (DRR):

• To use the “Checklist on law and disaster risk reduction” to assess and improve our legal framework for disaster risk reduction;
• To cooperate in developing and / or implementing relevant laws and policies to empower communities and vulnerable people to participate in decision-making about disaster risk

Providing supportive legal framework for saving lives through first aid:

• To cooperate in promoting widespread first-aid training of appropriate quality;
•  To cooperate in identifying steps to reduce potential concerns of citizens about liability or legal complications related to providing first aid.

Strengthening Legal Frameworks for Disaster Response, Risk Reduction and First Aid (‘regional disaster law pledge’).

For the year/s 2016 – 2020, the Philippine Red Cross pledge:

General

1. To cooperate, collaborate, and strengthen the role of the Red Cross Red Crescent in ensuing the effective development and implementation of domestic laws and policies relevant to emergency and disaster risk management.
2. To support the strengthening of regional solutions to regulatory problems in emergency and disaster risk management.
3. To provide advice and support to other countries, National Societies and key partners that are interested in assessing and strengthening laws on emergency and disaster risk management.
4. To support the establishment of a regional disaster law advisory group or committee for Southeast Asia, to share experiences, information and foster collaboration.

Accelerating progress in the facilitation and regulation of International disaster response

1. To cooperate and share experience and information about developing, reviewing and strengthening our laws and procedures for managing international disaster response, drawing on the  “Guidelines for the domestic facilitation and regulation of international disaster relief and initial recovery assistance”  (IDRL Guidelines).
2. To foster dialogue about further strengthening regional and global normative frameworks for the facilitation and regulation of international disaster response.

Strengthening laws for disaster risk reduction

1.  To cooperate in using and promoting the “Checklist on law and disaster risk reduction” to assess legal frameworks for disaster risk reduction.
2.  To cooperate in the development and implementation of law and policy which empowers communities and vulnerable people to participate in decision-making about disaster risk management activities.

Providing supportive legal frameworks for saving lives through first aid

1. To cooperate in reviewing and strengthening our laws and procedures for the promotion of First Aid training and provision.
2. To cooperate in promoting widespread first-aid training of appropriate quality at the national and regional levels.

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Action plan