INTERNATIONAL LAW FRAMEWORK FOR FOREIGN HUMANITARIAN AID IN TIMES OF PEACE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18485/Keywords:
foreign humanitarian aid, peace-time disasters, sovereignty, prohibition of intervention, international human rights, international disaster relief law, soft lawAbstract
The establishment of foreign humanitarian aid in times of peace is primarily related to various natural disasters and other large-scale accidents when it is necessary to provide support to the vulnerable population of the affected country. In international law, there is no general international treaty which would comprehensively regulate the issue of cross-border humanitarian aid in times of peace. The current rules of international law that constitute the normative framework for the provision of foreign humanitarian aid are scattered in a large number of heterogeneous international instruments and sources of different legal force. They are often vague and come down to a few general principles applicable in all situations, irrespective of the nature of the peace-time disaster. These intenational rules include the norms of international treaty and customary law, as well as a large number of legally non-binding rules that fall into the domain of soft law. Thus, the international legal framework for the provision of foreign humanitarian aid in times of peace is still not properly systematized, organized and fully completed.
References
[1] Akande, Dapo, Gillard, Emanuela-Chiara, Oxford Guidance on the Law Relating to Humanitarian Relief Operations in Situations of Armed Conflict, University of Oxford, Oxford, 2016.
[2] Costas Trascasas, Milena, “Access to the Teritory of Disaster-Affected State” in: Andrea de Guttry, Marco Gestri and Gabriella Venturini (eds.), International Disaster Response Law, T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague, 2012, pp. 221–242.
[3] De Guttry, Andrea, “Surveying the Law” in: Andrea de Guttry, Marco Gestri and Gabriella Venturini (eds.), International Disaster Response Law, T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague, 2012, pp. 3–44.
[4] Dinstein, Yoram, “The Right to Humanitarian Assistance”, Naval War College Review, Vol. 53, No. 4, pp. 77–91.
[5] Dungel, Joakim, “A Right to Humanitarian Assistance in Internal Armed Conflicts Respecting Sovereignty, Neutrality and Legitimacy: Practical Proposals to Practical Problems”, The Journal of Humanitarian Assistance; https://sites.tufts.edu/jha/archives/838.
[6] Ebersole, Jon M., “The Mohonk Criteria for Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies – Task Force on Ethical and Legal Issues in Humanitarian Assistance”, Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 192–208.
[7] Fisher, David, “Domestic regulation of international humanitarian relief in disasters and armed conflict: a comparative analysis”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 89, No. 866, pp. 345–372.
[8] Fisher, David, “The Right to Humanitarian Assistance”, Studies in Transnational Legal Policy, Vol. 41, 2010, pp. 47-128.
[9] Gillard, Emanuela-Chiara, ”The law regulating cross-border relief operations”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 95, No. 890, pp. 351–382.
[10] Jakovljevic, Bosko, “Right to Humanitarian Action and State Sovereignty” in: Stefania Baldini, Guido Ravasi (eds.), Humanitarian Action and State Sovereignty, International Institute of Humanitarian Law, Milano, 2003, pp. 95-101.
[11] Jakovljević, Boško, “The right to humanitarian assistance – Legal aspects”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 27, No. 260, pp. 469-484.
[12] Jakovljević, Boško, „Humanitarna pomoć” u: Milan Šahović (ur.), Međunarodno pravo i jugoslovenska kriza, Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu, Beograd, 1996, str. 340-383.
[13] Jansen-Wilhelm, Stefanie, “Accepting Assistance in the Aftermath of Disasters”, Intersentia, Cambridge, 2015, p. 246.
[14] Leng Sun, Chan, “Humanitarian Assistance by International Organisations: A Question of Compulsory Access to Victims”, Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 320–347.
[15] Radivojević, Zoran, Raičević, Nebojša, „Posebno zaštićeni civili u međunarodnom humanitarnom pravu”, Godišnjak Fakulteta političkih nauka, br. 14, 2015, str. 101–121.
[16] Radivojević, Zoran, Raičević, Nebojša, „Pravni režim međunarodne humanitarne pomoći u oružanim sukobima”, Zbornik radova Pravnog fakulteta u Nišu, br. 92, 2021, str. 133–149.
[17} Thomsen, Matias, “The obligation not to arbitrarily refuse international disaster relief: A question of sovereignty”, Melbourne Journal of International Law, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 484-521.
[18] Todres, Jonathan, “Mainstreaming Children’s Rights in Post-Disaster Settings”, Emory International Law Review, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 1233–1262.
[19] Von Pilar, Ulrike, “Humanitarian Space Under Siege Some Remarks from an Aid Agency’s Perspective”, Backgroundpaper prepared for the Symposium „Europe and Humanitarian Aid – What Future? Learning from Crisis”, 22 and 23 April 1999 in Bad Neuenahr; http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.462.7013&rep=rep1&type=pdf;
[20] Warwick, Ben TC., “Socio-Economic Rights during Economic Crises: A Changes Approach to Non-Retrogression”, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Vol. 65, No. 1, pp. 249-266.
[21] Zorzi Giustiniani, Flavia, ”The Works of the International Law Commission on „Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters”. A Critical Appraisal” in: Andrea de Guttry, Marco Gestri and Gabriella Venturini (eds.), International Disaster Response Law, T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague, 2012, pp. 65–85.
Dokumenti
[1] African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, 11 July 1990, OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/24.9/49.
[2] Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Disaster Relief, September 1994, https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/resources/documents/publication/p1067.htm.
[3] Convention and Statute Establishing the International Relief Union, 135 LNTS 247.
[4] Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, UNTS, 2006, Vol. 1457, No. 24643.
[5] Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 November 1989, UNTS, Vol. 1577, 1990, No. 27531.
[6] Humanitarian Access in Situations of Armed Conflict: Handbook on the International Normative Framework, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Bern, 2014.
[7] Hyogo Declaration, World Conference on Disaster Reduction, 18-22 January 2005, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, https://www.unisdr.org/2005/wcdr/intergover/official-doc/L-docs/Hyogo-declaration-english.pdf.
[8] Institute of International Law, Resolution on Humanitarian Assistance, Bruges, 2003, https://www.idi-iil.org/app/uploads/2017/06/2003_bru_03_en.pdf.
[9] International Court of Justice, Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Merits), Judgment of 27 June 1986.
[10] International Institute of Humanitarian Law, Guiding Principles on the Right to Humanitarian Assistance, International Review of the Red Cross, NovemberDecember 1993, No. 297, pp. 519–525.
[11] International Law Commission, Draft articles on the protection of persons in the event of disasters, UN Doc. A/71/10, 2016.
[12] International Law Commission, Recommendation of the Commission, UN Doc. A/71/10, 2016.
[13] OCHA Guidelines on the Use of Foreign Military and Civil Defense Assets in Disaster Relief, https://www.unocha.org/sites/unocha/files/OSLO%20Guidelines%20Rev%201.1%20-%20Nov%2007.pdf.
[14] Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations, UNTS, 2006, Vol. 2296, No. 40906, p. 5; UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 3: The Nature of States Parties Obligations (Art. 2, para. 1 of the Covenant), 14 December 1990, (contained in UN Doc. E/1991/23).
[15] UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 15: The Right to Water (Arts. 11 and 12 of the Covenant), 20 January 2003.
[16] UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 12: The Right to Adequate Food (Art. 11 of the Covenant), 12 May 1999.
[17] UN Economic and Social Council, Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, UN Doc. E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.2, 11 February 1998.
[18] UN General Assembly Resolution 43/131 (Humanitarian assistance to victims of natural disasters and similar emergency situations), 8 December 1988.
[19] UN General Assembly Resolution 45/100, (Humanitarian assistance to victims of natural disasters and similar emergency situations), 14 December 1990.
[20] UN General Assembly Resolution 46/182 (Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian emergency assistance of the United Nations), 19 December 1991.
[21] UN General Assembly Resolution 75/124 (International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development), UN Doc. A/RES/75/124, 11 December 2020.
[22] UN General Assembly Resolution 75/127 (Strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations), UN Doc. A/RES/75/127, 11 December 2020.
[23] UN General Assembly, Measures to Expedite Emergency Relief, UN Doc. A/32/61, 12 May 1977.
[24] UN Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 6: Article 6 (Right to Life), 30 April 1982.
[25] UN Security Council Resolution 770, 14 August 1992.
[26] UN Security Council Resolution 794, 3 December 1992.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
