Purpose:

Handbook on Law and Disaster Risk Reduction (the Handbook) has been developed in support of the Checklist on Law and Disaster Risk Reduction (the Checklist), a tool to assess whether and to what extent the existing legal framework of a country is meeting its full potential in supporting DRR. The Checklist was developed by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) drawing on three years of research and consultations with key stakeholders.

The Handbook elaborates on the Checklist by providing explanations of each assessment question and related ‘issues to consider’, as well as a range of suggestions on how to conduct a legislative review process using the Checklist. It also provides some background on the findings of the IFRC/UNDP research, the related standards set out by the Sendai Framework, and lessons learned from legislative review processes around the world.

The handbook aims to support relevant officials to design and carry out structured dialogues about law and DRR, as requested by the 31st International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. Others, including governmental officials, parliamentary staff, and legislative drafters, as well as civil society, researchers and academics, are also warmly encouraged to use the Handbook and Checklist

Overview:

The Handbook has been developed to provide guidance on how to use the Checklist and conduct related legislative reviews and reform processes. While the methodology for using the Checklist needs to be tailored to each country’s context and respective needs, the Handbook is intended to provide general guidance on key steps to consider.

Part 6 explains how the Checklist could be used during an in-depth legislative reform process, and uses lessons learned from a range of countries to inform its recommendations. The Checklist may, however, be used in a variety of platforms, workshops and initiatives, and can also be used to determine whether a fully-fledged legislative review process is needed in the first place. DRM committees, project teams and programmes targeting DRR and resilience may also choose to use the Checklist as part of their activities.

Part 7 provides guidance on how to use the Checklist when researching and analyzing relevant domestic laws and regulations. It provides additional detailed explanations and issues to consider, a suggested process for answering the questions, examples of good practice, and references to standards set by the Sendai Framework.

Usage: Guidance for implementation of disaster law

Audience: Disaster law practitioners

See also: Checklist on Law and Disaster Risk Reduction