Vani Catanasiga, coordinator for the Fiji Council of Social Services, has raised concerns about the government’s initiative to create a national register for humanitarian workers and disaster risk management volunteers. Her comments come in response to the introduction of the National Disaster Risk Management Bill in Parliament, which aims to establish a Fiji cluster system for humanitarian organizations and a registry for disaster response volunteers.
While Catanasiga supports the proposed legislation, she questioned whether government responders would be held to the same standards as civil society organizations (CSOs) and community volunteers. She noted that the humanitarian actor registry is intended to uphold better standards for individuals, while the disaster risk management volunteer registry focuses on groups.
Catanasiga inquired if there are mechanisms in place for civil servants acting as responders to adhere to the Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) while fulfilling their official duties. She believes that including state responders in the legislation would enhance its effectiveness.
“If the Act also encompasses civil service responders, it will be robust enough to achieve its aims. Without that, I fear the Bill may fall short,” she warned.
The Bill was presented in Parliament by Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure, chairperson of the Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights. He outlined that the Fiji cluster system would improve coordination among humanitarian actors and volunteer organizations by requiring them to formally register their objectives.
Regarding disaster risk management volunteers, Ratu Rakuita highlighted that the provisions mandate volunteer organizations to officially declare their intentions to participate, aiming to establish a protective framework to safeguard volunteers from potential violations during disaster response efforts.