A/HRC/28/76 since disasters or conflicts severely affect those whose living conditions are already precarious. Further thought is required on how to improve these living conditions. Special attention should be paid to the early stage of post-disaster and post-conflict situations (not excluding matters of transitional justice), because humanitarian activities are mainly developed at that stage. A holistic human rights-based approach must be also considered in the rehabilitation and reconstruction stages, as well as in resettlement processes. Protracted crisis situations should also be considered.2 8. While humanitarian activities mostly foster the promotion and protection of human rights, and many good practices are highlighted in the present report, experience also shows that humanitarian activities may be sometimes seriously flawed in terms of human rights. The main challenges faced in the promotion and protection of human rights in post-disaster and post-conflict situations are therefore also highlighted below. 9. A perspective that respects the protective normative framework and takes into account a human rights-based approach must already be considered prior to the disaster, and Governments should be aware of their responsibilities in the protection of their populations. That affected persons understand their rights is equally important. III. Definitions 10. Over the past decades, the world has witnessed a significant increase in the number of disasters reported: from fewer than 100 per year reported in 1975 to more than 400 in 2010. The number of people affected and the economic damage caused by disasters have also increased.3 Conflicts and natural disasters have multi-dimensional effects on human rights. They create crises that affect the rights to life, health and security. Crops and infrastructure are destroyed, having a long-term effect on livelihood, access to food and water, education, health care and even access to justice and other basic services. A natural disaster or conflict becomes an emergency4 when local families and communities cannot cope with or recover from it on their own. 11. It has been estimated that complex, multi-causal crisis will become more common.5 Bearing in mind such a multi-dimensional scope, many terms need to be considered in order to attain a better understanding of the theoretical and operative complexity of these situations. A. Terms used in the context of post-conflict situations International and non-international armed conflict 2 3 4 5 4 Protracted crisis situations are characterized by recurrent natural disasters and/or conflict, food crises, breakdown of livelihoods and insufficient institutional capacity to react to the crises. Countries in protracted crises thus need to be regarded as a special category with special requirements in terms of interventions by the development community. See “Countries in protracted crisis: what are they and why do they deserve special attention?” in The State of Food Insecurity in the World, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 2010. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, “Red Cross Red Crescent approach to disaster and crisis management” (available from www.ifrc.org/en/who-we-are/vision-andmission/disaster-and-crisis-management/).. Emergencies are traditionally categorized into rapid onset disasters, chronic conflicts, forgotten and cyclical. “Conflict remains an important source of vulnerability, but other hazards and risks are gaining prominence. Increasingly we will see climate change, urbanization, migration, access to food, and technological disasters all acting at once and further compounding risks and vulnerabilities”. Feinstein International Centre, Three-Year Plan: January 2012 to December 2015.