Humanitarian principles
Session 2: Handout 2.2
Three of the fundamental humanitarian principles
Humanitarian principles are based on the work of the Red Cross, and they have their underpinnings in international humanitarian law. The principles are a type of framework for how we act, a "code of conduct" for everyone present in a complex emergency, including the warring parties.
Below is a description, in human rights terminology, of three of the humanitarian principles that we want to focus on during this workshop.
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First: -THE HUMANITARIAN IMPERATIVE: to prevent and alleviate suffering; to protect life and health (improve human condition); and to ensure respect for the human being. It implies a right to receive humanitarian assistance and a right to offer it as fundamental to humanitarian principles. The humanitarian imperative also implies an over all protection approach, i.e. the respect of international humanitarian law and human rights.
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Second: -NEUTRALITY: not to take sides in the hostilities or in controversies based on political, racial, religious or ideological identity (non-partisanship/independence). Transparency and openness are key issues to keep neutrality. For an organization, which has human rights principles at its core, neutrality does not imply, however, that behind an argument of wanting to stay neutral the organization could decide to take no action at all in response to human rights violations. Neutrality for an organization that has taken on a rights-based approach must therefore not be an obstacle to tackling human rights violations.
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Third: -IMPARTIALITY: aid is delivered to all those who are suffering, the guiding principle is only their need and the corresponding right. Human rights are the basis and the framework for an assessment of needs. The idea is, based on our definition of protection, that depending on which right are to be fulfilled (for example, the right to health or the right to a fair trial), the aid community should respond with the appropriate assistance, advocacy and action. Accordingly, this principle can include both the proportionality to need as well as the principle of non-discrimination. Proportionality to the need also reflects accountability of the aid community to the victims as well as to donors. It is crucial to emphasize state responsibility in the context of ensuring that aid is delivered in an impartial way.
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Group work Discuss the following:
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