Summaries of the Work of the International Law Commission
Protection of persons in the event of disasters
See also: Analytical Guide | Texts and Instruments
At its fifty-eighth session, in 2006, the Commission, on the basis of a recommendation of the Working Group on the long-term programme of work, identified the topic “Protection of persons in the event of disasters” for inclusion in its long-term programme of work.1 A syllabus describing the possible overall structure of, and approach to, the topic was annexed to that year’s report of the Commission.2
The General Assembly, in resolution 61/34 of 4 December 2006, took note of the Commission’s decision to include the topic in its long-term programme of work.
At its fifty-ninth session, in 2007, the Commission decided to include the topic “Protection of persons in the event of disasters” in its programme of work and appointed Eduardo Valencia-Ospina as Special Rapporteur for the topic.3
The General Assembly, in resolution 62/66 of 6 December 2007, took note of the Commission’s decision to include the topic in its programme of work.
From its sixtieth to sixty-sixth sessions, held from 2008 to 2014, the Commission considered the topic on the basis of seven successive reports submitted by the Special Rapporteur.4 The Commission also had before it a memorandum by the Secretariat5 and a set of written replies submitted by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to the questions addressed to them by the Commission in 2008.6
At its sixty-sixth session, in 2014, the Commission adopted, on first reading, a set of twenty-one draft articles on the protection of persons in the event of disasters, together with commentaries thereto.7 The Commission decided, in accordance with articles 16 to 21 of its Statute, to transmit the draft articles, through the Secretary-General, to Governments, competent international organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for comments and observations, with the request that such comments and observations be submitted to the Secretary-General by 1 January 2016. The Commission also indicated that it would welcome comments and observations on the draft articles from the United Nations, including the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, by the same date.8
At its sixty-eighth session, in 2016, the Commission had before it the eighth report of the Special Rapporteur,9 as well as comments and observations received from Governments, international organizations and other entities.10 The Commission commenced the second reading of the draft articles on the protection of persons in the event of disasters, on the basis of the eighth report of the Special Rapporteur and the comments and observations received. The Commission subsequently adopted, on second reading, a draft preamble and 18 draft articles, together with commentaries thereto, on the protection of persons in the event of disaster. In accordance with article 23 of its Statute, the Commission recommended to the General Assembly the elaboration of a convention on the basis of the draft articles on the protection of persons in the event of disasters.11
The final draft consists of a draft preamble and eighteen draft articles: article 1 (Scope); article 2 (Purpose); article 3 (Use of terms); article 4 (Human dignity); article 5 (Human rights); article 6 (Humanitarian principles); article 7 (Duty to cooperate); article 8 (Forms of cooperation in the response to disasters); article 9 (Reduction of the risk of disasters); article 10 (Role of the affected State); article 11 (Duty of the affected State to seek external assistance); article 12 (Offers of external assistance); article 13 (Consent of the affected State to external assistance); article 14 (Conditions on the provision of external assistance); article 15 (Facilitation of external assistance); article 16 (Protection of relief personnel, equipment and goods); article 17 (Termination of external assistance); and article 18 (Relationship to other rules of international law).
By resolutions 71/141 of 13 December 2016 and 73/209 of 20 December 2018, respectively, the General Assembly took note of the draft articles, invited Governments to submit comments on the recommendation by the Commission to elaborate a convention on the basis of the draft articles and decided to include the item entitled “Protection of persons in the event of disasters” in the provisional agendas of its seventy-third and seventy-fifth sessions.12
By resolution 76/119 of 9 December 2021,13 the General Assembly took note once again of the draft articles and also took note of the views and comments expressed in the debates of the Sixth Committee on the topic, as well as the comments and observations received from Governments. The General Assembly decided to examine the draft articles and to consider further the recommendation of the Commission for the elaboration of a convention by the General Assembly or by an international conference of plenipotentiaries on the basis of the draft articles, or any other potential course of action with respect to the draft articles, also in the light of the views and comments expressed in the debates of the Sixth Committee, as well as the comments and observations received from Governments, within the framework of a working group of the Committee, to be convened for four full consecutive days at the seventy-eighth and seventy-ninth sessions of the General Assembly. Accordingly, the General Assembly decided to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-eighth session the item entitled “Protection of persons in the event of disasters”.
1 See Yearbook … 2006, vol. II (Part Two), para. 257.
3 See Yearbook … 2007, vol. II (Part Two), para. 375.
4 See Yearbook … 2008, vol. II (Part One), document A/CN.4/598; Yearbook … 2009, vol. II (Part One), document A/CN.4/615; Yearbook … 2010, vol. II (Part One), document A/CN.4/629; Yearbook … 2011, vol. II (Part One), document A/CN.4/643; Yearbook … 2012, vol. II (Part One), document A/CN.4/652; Yearbook … 2013, vol. II (Part One), document A/CN.4/662; and Yearbook … 2014, vol. II (Part One), document A/CN.4/668 and Add.1.
5 Document A/CN.4/590 and Add.1 and Add.2 and Add.3.
6 See Yearbook … 2008, vol. II (Part Two), paras. 32 and 33.
7 See Yearbook … 2014, vol. II (Part Two), paras. 51–56.
9 Document A/CN.4/697.
10 Document A/CN.4/696 and Add.1.
11 See Yearbook … 2016, vol. II (Part Two), paras. 43–46 and 48–49.
12 See A/73/229 and A/75/214 for the Comments submitted by governments on the recommendation by the Commission.
13 In 2020, the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Sixth Committee, decided to defer the consideration of the agenda item to its seventy-sixth session (2021). See General Assembly decision 75/526 of 15 December 2020.