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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI13042679/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- When Disaster Strikes (IRIN) presents case studies in aid and response throughout South Asia, specifically focusing on the lessons learned from humanitarian responses to the major disasters that gravely affected the region in the past decade or so. It starts with an overview of the complexities of delivering aid. It addresses the role of the media in getting donor agencies and local organizations revved up for distributing resources to those in need, while noting that in developing countries this may be hindered by a lack of emergency staff, along with various cultural, political, and social constraints. It also notes that challenges to previous disaster aid has laid the ground work for a new approach – a human rights approach – with a focus on much-neglected groups, particularly women and children. The human rights approach provides a breakthrough in disaster risk reduction (DRR). It supports the standardization of universal human rights for all, making governments legally and morally accountable for protecting all peoples and properties within their territory from hazards, particularly those considered to be at the periphery of the nation-state and society who are often the most vulnerable. The 2005 Pakistan earthquake was a good example of the implementation of a human rights approach during a disaster response and reconstruction. IRIN looked at the role of the military, civil society, and the international community, while providing the chronology of the swift responses from these groups, as well as the opportunities and challenges they faced. It also highlights the various political, social and cultural constraints unique to the state. Interviews and personal testimonies from those involved, providing a practical look at the IRIN’s human rights approach and how it gives perspective to the theory. The document also discusses the cases of response to the 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran, and the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia, as well as issues involved in increasing military involvement in humanitarian efforts, education and disasters, inequality and its role in increasing vulnerability to disasters, etc. While one supports the notion that all people should be treated equally and that this should be reflected in DRR efforts and legislation, this approach neglects the cultural nuances within every society. This standardization within countries where humanitarian response is occurring can lead to backlash from society, which can increase risks to disaster. Hence, the human rights approach, in seeking equality in DRR, needs to reflect each state’s cultural viewpoint in order to be successfully implemented and proliferated globally.
- Subject:
- General Risk Management
- Citation/Reference:
- (2006). When disaster strikes: the response to the South Asian earthquake. Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN).
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Florida International University
- Rights Management:
- Refer to main document/publisher for use rights.
- Resource Identifier:
- FI13042679
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