The current state of the international legal regime of humanitarian assistance in the event of natural disasters indicates the lack of a comprehensive and systematic legal codification of this area. Bilateral agreements between countries on co-operation in the prevention of disasters and the mitigation of their consequences represent the oldest legal source in this field. More recently, the field of cooperation has expanded by concluding regional agreements. However, there is currently no legally binding document that would regulate natural disaster relief on a global level. In order to ensure victims of natural disasters timely and effective relief a universal binding legal document that would clearly define rights and duties between States and in their relation with other humanitarian actors should be adopted. The prospect of the emergence of a more comprehensive multilateral convention in the near future is in the draft articles on the protection of persons in the event of disasters prepared by ILC. The General Assembly decided to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-third session in 2018 a discussion on the topic. Despite the current absence of explicit legal obligations of States to provide humanitarian assistance to persons on their territory or under their jurisdiction who are endangered by natural disasters, this obligation can be derived from fundamental legal principles and human rights. The thesis also examines the possibility of a progressive approach to the regulation of natural disaster relief in conjunction with the concept of the “responsibility to protect” and the role of the UN Security Council which, in exceptional cases of large-scale disasters, could take measures to ensure international peace and security.
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