Humanitarian aid

Overview

What is humanitarian aid?

A different form of aid? Ethics and humanitarianism
Why give humanitarian aid?
The diversity of humanitarianism
Key actors
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
Challenges to humanitarianism
Linking humanitarianism to security

What is humanitarian aid?

Diverse contexts.

A different sort of aid? Ethics and

humanitarianism
Distinguishing humanitarian from
development aid
Overlapping institutions
The importance of the Dunantist institutions.
The ethical dimension and codes of conduct:
IFRC Code of Conduct 300 signatories of
which 197 from Europe

IFRC Code of Conduct (1994)

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The humanitarian imperative comes first.

Aid is given regardless of the race, creed or nationality of the recipients.
Aid will not be used for further a particular political or religious standpoint.
We shall endeavour not to act as instruments of government foreign policy.
We shall respect culture and custom
We shall attempt to build disaster response on local capacities.
Ways shall be found to involve programme beneficiaries in the
management of relief aid.
Relief aid must strive to reduce future vulnerabilities to disaster as well as
meeting basic needs.
We hold ourselves accountable to both those we seek to assist and those
from whom we accept resources.
In our information, publicity and advertising activities, we shall recognise
disaster victims as dignified human beings.

Why give humanitarian aid?

Human solidarity and religious motivation

Regional solidarity
Security
Political and ideological reasons the rise
of consequentialism
Teleological ethics: actions justified by
consequences
Deontological ethics: duty-based ethics

Humanitarianism good in
itself?
Central Africa, mid 1990s

Tsunami relief, 2005

Key actors
Bilateral aid (official humanitarian
assistance OHA);
UN agencies (esp. OCHA, UNHCR, WFP);
NGOs (especially ICRC/IFRC)
military

The diversity of humanitarianism

The dominance of western donors?
Institutions proliferate:
1994, Bosnia, 16 donors pledge aid
2005, Indian ocean tsunami, 92 pledge support

Non-DAC donors the G77 countries, including

India, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE
Non-DAC donors 1-12% of OHA 1999-2004

The Red Cross Movement

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Helping victims of war and armed conflict

Founded 1863
Geneva conventions, 1864, 1949
Employs 11, 000 people of whom 800 based in Geneva,
1400 expatriates around the world, half of whom are
Swiss
Committee 15-25 people, all Swiss
Funded by voluntary donation: average 340 million
per year

The Federation and National

Societies
IFRC as umbrella organisation for the national societies.
Founded 1919
Annual income around 106 million.

National societies
In almost all countries, around 100 million members and
volunteers
Not only war disaster relief too
Claims almost 230 million beneficiaries each year
British Red Cross: annual income about 250 million

Note: independence of IFRC and ICRC

Challenges to humanitarianism
Dependency?
Perpetuating conflict
Unaccountable
agencies
Meeting needs?

Humanitarianism and security