ABSTRACT
In early 2019, Mozambique was struck by consecutive tropical cyclones, Idai and Kenneth, which left millions of people in need of humanitarian assistance. In the months following these cyclones, Mozambique was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and further tropical storms. Compounding these disasters, since October 2017, an insurgency called Ansar al-Sunna has been conducting armed attacks in Cabo Delgado province. Disasters and armed conflict have similar impacts on affected populations and can trigger a need for international humanitarian assistance for those affected. Access barriers and quality issues are, however, often faced with respect to humanitarian assistance in both scenarios. Disasters and armed conflicts are governed by separate bodies of law, with international humanitarian law (IHL) being the primary area of law governing non-international armed conflicts (NIACs) and international disaster response law (IDRL) governing the facilitation of international humanitarian assistance in disasters. This chapter examines how these bodies of law relate to each other in mixed situations of disaster and armed conflict. The chapter examines whether IHL treaty law rules are sufficient to facilitate international humanitarian assistance in such scenarios and whether IDRL may add to and complement IHL in facilitating humanitarian assistance.
