The Law of International Disaster Response: Overview and Ramifications for Military Actors

A s military lawyers are well aware, the international legal framework for the protection and assistance of civilians in conflict situations is well developed and deeply integrated into the ways lawyers and laypeopJe think and talk about war. The Geneva Conventions of 1949, the cornerstone of international hwnanitarian law (IHL), have now achieved universal adhesion;l over seventy nations have formed national commissions on IHl;2 and lHL is being studied and wri tten about in universities, mili tary academies and other forums around the world. In contrast, the law of international disaster response, referred to in recent years as "International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles" or "IDRL," has been described as "neglected'" and "far from complete,"· with no centralized regime equivalent to the Geneva Conventions, few academic resources dedicated to the issue and, until recently, li ttle attention from the international disaster relief community .