Source: United Nations (video statements)
Hybrid Press Briefing by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on the new IFRC disaster research and campaign launch: astronauts at the heart of push for world’s first international disaster treaty.
Briefers (in-person) are:
Dylan Winder, IFRC Permanent Observer to the UN and Director of Humanitarian Diplomacy and Communications;
Dr Sian Proctor, Geoscientist and astronaut; and
Isabelle Granger, IFRC Global Lead, Disaster Law.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC) Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Dylan Winder, said the Treaty on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters, which UN Member States have agreed to negotiate, “represents a historic opportunity.”
Presenting the IFRC’s campaign in support of the draft treaty, Winder said, “international treaties protect astronauts in distress. But if a flood strikes in your city, there’s still no comprehensive global treaty to help countries cut through red tape and coordinate international assistance on Earth,”
He said, “when a major disaster overwhelms national capacity and international assistance is needed, barriers like these can delay humanitarian personnel, specialist equipment and life-saving supplies,” and argued that a global treaty “would provide a common framework for international cooperation before disasters strike, and when international assistance is needed.”
In practice, Winder continued, “this could mean faster deployment of humanitarian teams, simpler customs and border procedures for life saving supplies, more predictable cooperation between governments and humanitarian organizations, lower costs and fewer administrative barriers, and better protection for people affected by disasters.”
He said, “the draft Treaty recognizes that states have a duty to prevent, mitigate, and prepare for disasters through appropriate measures, including the installation and operation of early warning systems,” and it would “ensure that disaster risk reduction becomes a priority and a duty for all countries before, during and after disasters.”
The IFRC official said, “for major disasters like the one we’re seeing in Nepal, a global treaty would set clear rules for international disaster assistance and help governments and humanitarian actors cut through and the red tape and act faster.”
Dr. Sian Proctor, a Geoscientist and SpaceX astronaut who is taking part in the campaign, said, “since I was a child I have felt this calling. I thought it was to be an astronaut. So, I’ve spent part of my life chasing space. But going to space made me realize that the calling wasn’t actually space. It was our Earth that had been calling me. And not just me, but all of us calling us to actively work toward coming back into balance with our planet and helping each other.”
For her part, Isabelle Granger, who is the global lead for disaster law at the IFRC said, “there are already many treaties that exist,” but added that “what is missing is a comprehensive global framework that would provide for mutual solidarity and collaboration between states and other actors.”
The new global campaign, Earth’s Missing Treaty, highlights the IFRC’s call for countries to support the adoption of the Treaty, which in practice, could mean faster deployment of humanitarian teams, simpler customs and border procedures for life-saving supplies, more predictable cooperation between governments and humanitarian organisations, lower costs and fewer administrative barriers, and better protection for people affected by disasters.