CYIL vol. 8 (2017)

CYIL 8 ȍ2017Ȏ INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE CONTEXT OF DISASTER RESPONSE The other issue is the responsibility of the state under the rules of general customary law for an internationally wrongful act. An internationally wrongful act occurs when the state breaches an obligation of international law. The paper examined several provisions of ILC’s Draft Article on Protection of Persons in the event of Disaster. However, it must be reiterated that rules encompassed in the mentioned Draft Articles did not become part of a legally binding international treaty nor become part of international customary law. Basically, the rules of protection of persons in the event of disaster are not yet rules of international law and as such they do not stem from any formal source of international law as these are defined in Article 38 par. 1 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. The main purpose of IDRL norms is to ensure protection of individual persons negatively affected by the event of disaster. The IDRL rules regulate conduct of the state before, during, and immediately after the disaster in order to provide aid to affected populations. As it appears, states are reluctant to adopt strong obligations in that respect. For example, the ILC formulated the duty of a state to seek assistance, however there is neither a corresponding duty to provide such assistance (the opposition against such obligation can be seen in comments of governments during the works on the Draft Articles) nor a strict duty of the affected state to grant permission to foreign assistance. The IDRL also does not regulate the enforcement of desired behavior, for example, in a situation when a state is denying permission of foreign assistance or when it does not comply with its duty to seek assistance, etc. These issues would have to be resolved in the practice of states and the international community for the IDRL to become an effective system of rules that will ensure humanitarian aid to victims of calamities. In the author’s opinion, these issues shall gain in importance with the progress of global change of climate, as disaster will become more severe and less predictable with their scale, death toll and overall damage soaring.

international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters.” United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 6 December 2006. Online: http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/ convention/convention_accessible_pdf.pdf.

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