ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes how the international rules involved may interact with other principles and bodies of international law, such as the principle of state sovereignty and International Humanitarian Law. It focuses on the role and application of IHRL in disaster settings. The book assesses how certain rights or categories of rights may become relevant in disaster scenarios. It looks at groups of persons who (a) may be particularly vulnerable in disaster-stricken areas or (b) have been displaced as a consequence of a disaster. The book offers a broad assessment of the role of human rights in disaster scenarios. It explores the preliminary question of the contours of the notion of disaster in international law so as to identify the material scope of the relevant sets of rules and thus ascertain who and what is entitled to legal protection.
