Law Commons^™

Disasters, Relief, And Neglect: The Duty To Accept Humanitarian Assistance And The Work Of The International Law Commission, J.Benton Heath

J.Benton Heath

In the wake of several large-scale natural disasters, such as the 2008 cyclone in Myanmar, some scholars and diplomats have argued that states should be under a duty to accept humanitarian assistance. This paper discusses the circumstances under which states should be required to admit foreign or international aid. I first develop a principled framework based in existing human rights law, while arguing against efforts to expand the "responsibility to protect" to cover natural and technological disasters. Then the paper surveys previous efforts to articulate the duty of states to accept humanitarian aid, and analyzes these provisions in terms of …