The Responsibility to Protect Populations from Natural Disasters: an Extension of International Humanitarian Law

Managing the response to natural disasters is, traditionally, a matter for the government of an affected State though other States and Non-government organisations have always been willing to assist. The accepted norm has been that international assistance cannot be delivered to an affected State without the consent of that State. To say that 'Each State has ... the primary role' in responding to emergencies does not mean, however, that the State is the only authority with an interest in how the emergency is managed. This paper will consider whether or not other States might have the authority, under international law, to intervene during a disaster even without the consent of the affected State.