Difference between revisions of "Humanitarian aid" - New World Encyclopedia
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− | Every organization participating of humanitarian aid operations, has its own particular rules, regulations and preventive plans of action for keeping their aid workers as safe as possible. Nevertheless, the dangers and threats inherent to these kind of operations have always existed and are not easy to minimize as each field of operation is unique. Even in areas with relative calm and tranquility, violence can suddenly appear.<ref> | + | Every organization participating of humanitarian aid operations, has its own particular rules, regulations and preventive plans of action for keeping their aid workers as safe as possible. Nevertheless, the dangers and threats inherent to these kind of operations have always existed and are not easy to minimize as each field of operation is unique. Even in areas with relative calm and tranquility, violence can suddenly appear.<ref>David Lloyd Roberts, ''Staying Alive'' (International Committee of the Red Cross, 1999) available [http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900sid/RURI-6LJUCY/$file/icrc-safety-30jan.pdf.pdf?openelement online] Retrieved May 6, 2008.</ref> |
==Attacks on humanitarian workers== | ==Attacks on humanitarian workers== |
Revision as of 15:00, 6 May 2008
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity. It may therefore be distinguished from development aid, which seeks to address the underlying socioeconomic factors which may have led to a crisis or emergency.
Humanitarian response
Humanitarian aid is delivered by governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other non-governmental humanitarian agencies according to humanitarian principles set out in Resolution 46/182[1] of the United Nations General Assembly (for governments and UN agencies), and in Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief (for NGHAs).
Funding
They are funded by donations from individuals, corporations, governments and other organizations. The funding and delivery of humanitarian aid is increasingly being organized at an international level to facilitate faster and more effective responses to major emergencies affecting large numbers of people (eg. see Central Emergency Response Fund). The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) coordinates the international humanitarian response to a crisis or emergency pursuant to Resolution 46/182 of the United Nations General Assembly.
Standards
The Sphere Project handbook, Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, which was produced by a coalition of leading non governmental humanitarian agencies, lists the following principles of humanitarian action:
- The right to life with dignity
- The distinction between combatant and non-combatants
- The principle of non-refoulement
The Quality Project, based on the Quality Compass, is an alternative project to Sphere, taking into account the side effects of standardization and those of an appraoch based on "minima" rather than the pursuit of quality. This project is leaded by Groupe URD.
Safety
Every organization participating of humanitarian aid operations, has its own particular rules, regulations and preventive plans of action for keeping their aid workers as safe as possible. Nevertheless, the dangers and threats inherent to these kind of operations have always existed and are not easy to minimize as each field of operation is unique. Even in areas with relative calm and tranquility, violence can suddenly appear.[2]
Attacks on humanitarian workers
Humanitarian aid workers belonging to UN organisations, PVOs / NGOs or the Red Cross / Red Crescent have traditionally enjoyed both international legal protection, and de facto immunity from attack by belligerent parties. However, attacks on humanitarian workers have occasionally occurred, and became more frequent in the 1990s and 2000s. This is attributed to a number of factors, including the increasing number of humanitarian workers deployed, the increasingly unstable environments in which they work, and the erosion of the perception of neutrality and independence.
Legal basis for protection of humanitarian workers
The legal basis for protection of humanitarian workers in conflicts is contained in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the related Protocol of 1977. These treaties describe the category of civilian non-combatant and outline the rights of obligations of non-combatants during conflict. These rights include the right to be treated humanely; to have access to food, water, shelter, medical treatment, and communications; to be free from violence to life and person, hostage taking, and humiliating or degrading treatment; and the prohibition against collective punishment or imprisonment. Civilian non-combatants include local citizens and nationals of countries that are not party to the conflict.
While the Geneva Conventions guarantee protection for humanitarian workers, they do not guarantee access of humanitarian workers to affected areas: governments or occupying forces may, if they wish, ban a relief agency from working in their area. Médecins Sans Frontières was created in 1971 with the express purpose of ignoring this restriction, by providing assistance to populations affected by the Biafran civil war despite the prohibitions of the government of Nigeria.
In addition, the Geneva Conventions do not require that parties to the conflict guarantee the safety of humanitarian workers. The Conventions prohibit combatants from attacking non-combatants, and they require occupying forces to maintain general order. However, the Conventions do not require that combating parties provide security escorts, for example, when other factions threaten the safety of non-combatants operating in their area.
Trends in risks faced by humanitarian workers
- Wars between states became much less common in the period following the end of the Cold War. Unfortunately, these wars have been largely replaced by an increased incidence of internal conflict and resulting violence and miscommunication, increasing the risk to civilians and humanitarian workers alike.
- Between 1985 and 1998 slightly less than 50% of all humanitarian worker deaths came from workers in UN programs. 25% of these deaths were UN peacekeepers.
- Most deaths of aid workers are due to deliberate violence.
- One third of deaths occur in the first three months of deployment, with 17% occurring within the first 30 days.[3]
Notes
- ↑ A/RES/46/182
- ↑ David Lloyd Roberts, Staying Alive (International Committee of the Red Cross, 1999) available online Retrieved May 6, 2008.
- ↑ Sheik, Gutierrez, et al, British Medical Journal 321 (2000):166–8
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Minear, Larry. The Humanitarian Enterprise Dilemmas and Discoveries. Bloomfield, Conn: Kumarian Press, 2002. ISBN 1565491491
- Waters, Tony. Bureaucratizing the Good Samaritan The Limitations to Humanitarian Relief Operation. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2001. ISBN 0813367905
External links
All links retrieved November 28, 2007.
- Networks
- News media
- Academia
- Critiques of Humanitarian Aid
- A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis - interview with David Rieff and Joanne Myers
- Post-Modern Conflict and Humanitarian Action: Questioning the Paradigm - Sean Greenaway, Journal of Humanitarian Assistance.
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