Disaster Response Framework – US
Organization and Administration
- Homeland Security Act of 2002
- Homeland Security Directive/HSPD-5
- PPD-8: National Preparedness
- PPD-21: Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience
The Robert T Stafford Act and Implementation
- The Stafford Act, 42 USC 5125 et seq. (LII)
- FEMA Regulations, 44 CFR 1 et seq
- National Response Framework
- National Incident Management System
- Emergency Support Functions Annexes
- National Mass Care Strategy (with links to NMCS website)
- Individual Assistance Program and Policy Guide (2019)
Legislative Reforms
- Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018
- Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013
- Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013 (FEMA Fact Sheet)
- Analysis of the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013
- Disaster Relief Appropriations Act (2013)
- Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006
- Federal Emergency Management Policy Changes After Hurricane Katrina: A Summary of Statutory Provisions
- Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (PETS Act)
State Coordination in Disaster Response
Other Sources of Emergency Power
- National Emergencies Act
- International Emergency Economic Powers Act
- DHS Declaration of Public Health Emergency
- DOA Declaration of Extraordinary Emergency and Resulting Authorities
- Declaration of (natural gas supply) Emergency
Disaster Response Framework – UN
Legal Documents
- GA Res. 46/182 (1991), Strengthening the Coordination of Humanitarian Emergency Assistance of the United Nations
UN Agencies and Actors
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
- UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)
- UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC)
- UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)
Coordination and Operations
- IASC Transformative Agenda
- UNDAC Field Handbook
- The Humanitarian Program Cycle
- Cluster Approach Evaluation 2 Synthesis Report (2010)
International Frameworks
- International Legal Frameworks for Humanitarian Advocacy
- Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030
- Reading of the Sendai Framework (explanation and rationale for specific provisions).
- Regional Platforms and DRR Strategies – webpage
- Agenda for Humanity
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Draft Articles on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disaster
- International Disaster Response Law Guidelines
- Information Sheets: The Application of Law In Disaster Contexts
Humanitarian Response
Standards and Protocols
- Minimum Standards for Protection, Gender and Inclusion in Emergencies, IFRC (2018)
- Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability
- The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response
- IASC Gender Handbook for Humanitarian Action (2018)
Research Reports
Internally Displaced Persons
Legal Resources
Standards and Protocols:
- Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement
- Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement: Annotations
- Handbook for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons
- IASC Framework for Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons, 2010
- Pinheiro Principles: UN Principles on Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons
- Handbook on Housing and Property Restitution: Implementing the Pinheiro Principles
- UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-Based Evictions and Displacement, 2007
- International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, Protocol on the Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons, 2006
- International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, Protocol on the Property Rights of Returning Persons, 2006
- Brookings – Bern: Addressing Internal Displacement: a Framework for National Responsibility, 2005
- UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons
Sexual Minorities In Disaster
Case Studies
- Down by the River: Addressing the Rights, Needs and Strengths of Fijian Sexual and Gender Minorities in Disaster Risk Reduction and Humanitarian Response (2018)
- Identifying the Experiences and Needs of LGBTI Communities Before, During, and after Emergencies in Victoria (2018)
- Segregation, Exclusion and LGBT People in Disaster Impacted Areas: Experiences From the Higashinihon Da Shinsai – Great East Japan Disaster (2016)
- HRW: LGBT People in Emergencies: Risks and Service Gaps (2016)
- Making Disaster Risk Reduction and Relief Programmes LGBT-Inclusive: Examples from Nepal (2016)
- Aravanis: Voiceless Victims of the Tsunami (2008)
International Guidelines, Protocols and Recommendations
- Including Sexual and Gender Minorities in Disaster Risk Reduction (2018)
- Sexual and Gender Minorities in Disaster (2017)
- Left Out and Behind: Fully Incorporating Gender Into the Climate Discourse (2016)
- Australia: National Gender and Emergency Management Guidelines (2016)
US Law and Guidelines
- HUD Equal Access Rule, Federal Register Notice, FR 5359-F-02
- HUD Notice CPD-15-02: Appropriate Placement for Transgender Persons in Single-Sex Emergency Shelters and Other Facilities
Gender Based Violence And Disaster
Case studies
- Hurricane Maria’s Survivors: Womens’ Safety Was Not Prioritized, Refugees International, Issue Brief (2019)
- Unseen and Unheard: GBV In Disasters, IFRC (2015)
- Haiti’s Silenced Victims, NYT (2012)
Legal Resources
International Guidelines, Protocols and Recommendations
- IFRC, Responsibility to Prevent and Respond to Gender and Sexual-Based Violence in Disasters and Crises (2018)
- IFRC, Effective Law and Policy on Gender Equality and Protection From SGBV in Disasters (2017)
- IASC Guidelines on Integrating Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Action (2015)
- Sexual Violence In Disasters: A Planning Guide for Prevention and Response (2004)
Rape, Sexual Exploitation, and Abuse
- Best Practices Guide, Inter-Agency Community-Based Complaint Mechanisms (2016)
- Statement of Commitment on Eliminating SEA by UN and Non-UN Personnel (2015)
- The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (2014)
- IASC Guidelines to Implement the Minimum Operating Standards for PSEA (2013)
- IASC Minimum Operating Standards for PSEA (2012)
- UN Secretary General’s Special Bulletin on Measures for Protection from SEA (2003)
- Guidelines for Integrating Gender Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings (2015)
- PSEA Task Force
Disability and Disaster
Case Studies
- Getting it Wrong: 2018 After Action Report, Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies (2019)
- Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities 5 Years After Hurricane Sandy, CIDNY (2017)
- Assessing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Persons with Disabilities, NIDRR (2007)
- The Impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on People with Disabilities, National Council on Disability (2006).
- Inclusive Disaster and Emergency Management for Persons with Disabilities, India (2013)
- Disability Inclusion in Disaster Risk Management, GFDRR (2017
Legal Resources – International
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities
- Dhaka Declaration on Disability and Disaster Risk Management (2015)
Legal Resources – US
- Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled (BCID) v. Bloomberg, 980 F. Supp. 588 (SDNY 2013)
- BCID summary, with litigation document links.
- FEMA’s Progress In Aiding Individuals with Disabilities Could Be Further Enhanced, GAO (2017)
- The Right to Be Rescued: Disability Justice in an Age of Disaster, 124 Yale L.J. 2406, 2410-2414 (2015).
Advocacy groups
- Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies
- World Institute on Disability, Natural Disasters page
Faith-Based Organizations and Humanitarian Aid
- Charter for Faith-Based Humanitarian Action (2016)
- Faith and Impartiality in Humanitarian Response: Lessons from Lebanese Evangelical Churches Providing Food Aid (2016)
- Evangelicals and International Aid: Insights from a Landscape Survey of US Churches (2016)
- Faith-Based and Secular Humanitarian Organizations (2005)
Additional Resources
Legal Research
- Casetext (alternative to West/Lexis, opinions and citing cases)
