ABSTRACT
This chapter reflects broadly on the role that equality and non-discrimination in fact plays or should play in disaster settings in both international and European Union law. To this end, the discussion first describes the general approaches taken in the relevant international practice in ensuring a non-discriminatory treatment for disaster victims (whether actual or potential). Particular emphasis in this respect is placed on the solutions enshrined in the 2016 Draft Articles on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters, adopted by the International Law Commission and to date representing the most significant and authoritative effort to codify International Disaster Law (IDL) into a set of general rules of universal application. On the one hand, the analysis seeks to shed light on the advantage that non-discriminatory approaches can bring to IDL; on the other, it offers a general reflection on the legal status and scope of the equality and non-discrimination principles in IDL.
