International Disaster Law

esearch on:
Intl. Disaster Law
International disaster law (IDL) is concerned with the legal issues that arise from the preparation, response to and recovery from different natural hazards. IDL also plays a critical role in helping to mitigate natural disasters where possible.
1- The recent outbreak of the Coronavirus in January 2020 in Wuhan, China is one of the most recent and life-threatening disasters that the world is currently facing. Recent statistics indicate that the death toll in China is about 1,400 cases with over 60,000 infections (World Health Organization, 2020). The rapid spread of the virus poses a global threat which makes the Wuhan virus a suitable topic for research. In their study, researchers should seek to identify the root cause of the virus, ways to avoid an increase in the number of infections and strategies that can be taken to avoid such outbreaks in the future. There is also the need for researchers to come up with a framework that can be used to handle similar cases that would occur in future to prevent the spread of infections.

COURSE ADVISOR COMMENTS:
I think you would be well served to first review the Hyogo and Sendai Frameworks (there is a very concise UN video about Sendai –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izpDdnaSxN0). These form the primary de jure mechanisms for international disaster law as best as I have been able to determine.
I’d suggest an examination of the relevant international law (if any) and assess whether that body of law is sufficient to meet the demands of the issue you present, using a past case as a point of comparison. For instance, if you want to research the Wuhan coronavirus, I would:
– examine the WHO’s authorities, policies, and practices
– look back to a prior use of the those powers to see how it all plays out (I’d suggest a comparison to SARS, given the similarity in viruses)
– detail how those powers were used and are being used in the case of the Wuhan coronavirus
– identify what works and what doesn’t in the WHO’s powers and practices
– make recommendations on how the problems identified could be resolved
 
References
Harvey, F. (2019, July 7). One climate crisis disaster happening every week, UN warns. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/07/one-climate-crisis-disaster-happening-every-week-un-warns
Newman, L. H. (2019, May 7). The biggest cybersecurity crises of 2019 so far. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/story/biggest-cybersecurity-crises-2019-so-far/
World Health Organization. (2020, February 13). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Retrieved from https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200213-sitrep-24-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=9a7406a4_4