CYIL vol. 8 (2017)

ADAM GIERTL CYIL 8 ȍ2017Ȏ – duty to facilitate aid to affected individuals (i.e. victims of disasters) reflecting certain standards settled in international instruments Thus, the paper shall examine the responsibility of the subjects of international law, according to rules of general international customary law, in respect of disaster response as well as examine the possibility of individuals to bring up individual claims of redress when the harm was caused to an individual due to failure of the subject responsible to meet the expectations of international law. The responsibility shall be assessed from the point of view of general international law (e.g. responsibility of states and international organizations for a wrongful act) as well as from the point of view of specific rules applicable within the scope of disaster response. In the following text the specific regimes of responsibility based on specific IDRL rules as set in the ILC’s Draft Articles shall be addressed. 3.1 Responsibility for disaster risk reduction Basic notion of responsibility for disaster risk reduction is that every state is responsible for the adoption of appropriate measures to reduce the risk of disaster. 21 The mentioned principle is firmly established under the terms of ILC’s Draft Articles and also other documents dedicated to disaster risk reduction, be it the Hyogo Framework, Yokohama Strategy or the recent instrument known as Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (hereinafter as “the Sendai Framework”) that brings the frame rules for reduction of risks posed by particular hazards. 22 The primary responsibility of the state for disaster risk reduction is thus a firm principle within the international (mainly soft law) instruments in connection with the principle of international cooperation and solidarity. Mainly, the Sendai Framework together with other instruments stress the technical details how such aims shall be achieved and set the frame for the forms of cooperation and activities that must be performed to enhance the capabilities of local communities and nations reaching up to the regional and global levels of governance to assess the hazard and prevent the negative consequences of the ensuing disaster. However, the question we consider necessary to answer is whether the international law responsibility regime is applicable in the situation when the state fails to fulfill the criteria set in the instruments dealing with disaster risk reduction. 21 For example, the Sendai Framework states: “Each State has the primary responsibility to prevent and reduce disaster risk, including through international, regional, subregional, transboundary and bilateral cooperation. The reduction of disaster risk is a common concern for all States and the extent to which developing countries are able to effectively enhance and implement national disaster risk reduction policies and measures in the context of their respective circumstances and capabilities can be further enhanced through the provision of sustainable international cooperation.” See: Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, adopted by UN General Assembly, Resolution A/RES/69/283, 23. June 2015. 22 Hazard can be simply described as a state or phenomenon that may cause a disaster. The Hyogo Framework defined hazard as “ A potentially damaging physical event, phenomenon or human activity that may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation. Hazards can include latent conditions that may represent future threats and can have different origins: natural (geological, hydrometeorological and biological) or induced by human processes (environmental degradation and technological hazards)” . See: Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015, Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters, Extract from the final report of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (A/CONF.206/6). The definition was later adopted by the Sendai Framework. 3. Responsibility, international law and disaster response

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