Activities
Activity
1
(5 minutes)
Introduce the session
objectives using Overhead Transparency 2.1.
Activity
2
(5 minutes)
Ask participants if
they can name some humanitarian principles. Write their answers on a
flipchart. Do not spend more than a few minutes on this.
Activity
3
(15 minutes)
Show the video: "The
code of conduct". Ask participants to compare the principles in
the video with the ones they themselves had come up with earlier. Ask
them also to listen critically to the use of human rights language in
the video.
After seeing
the video, allow for five minutes discussion and participants’ spontaneous
reactions, in particular regarding the use of human rights language
that you had asked them to focus on.
Distribute
Handout 2.1: "The Code of Conduct". Explain that this
handout contains the principles of conduct for the International Red
Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in disaster response programmes
as shown in the video. Give participants a few minutes to look at the
handout. They do not need to read it at this point, but should keep
it for future reference.
Activity
4
(10 minutes)
Be certain to highlight
that the approach to humanitarian principles you will present, unlike
the video, is based on human rights language. Be certain to point out
that what you are covering in your presentation is not as such a code
of conduct. Handouts 2.2 and 2.3 therefore have no standing
as documents other than that they are training materials. Indicate that
you first want to focus on three of the principles. With the help of
Overhead Transparencies 2.2 to 2.5, explain the
following:
Fundamental
humanitarian principles
Humanitarian
principles are based on the work of the Red Cross, and they have their
underpinnings in international humanitarian law and human rights 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. It is important to emphasize the responsibility
of governments and non-state entities. As humanitarian principles are
based on existing human rights and humanitarian law, these entities
have the primary responsibility in implementing them.
Humanitarian
principles look to make emergency action "development friendly";
they are a sort of check-list for ensuring that emergency programmes
are sound. The way in which we will be looking at humanitarian principles
in this part of the training is different from the way the Red Cross
Code of Conduct approaches this subject. For the purposes of grounding
humanitarian principles in a rights-based approach, it is necessary
to rephrase some of the principles into human rights language, as interpretations
as a result will be different. It will also be necessary to add some
points which may not have been included, for example taking gender dimensions
into account.
Below are three
humanitarian principles we want to first focus attention on during this
workshop.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 beneficiaries
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.
Distribute
Handout 2.2: "Humanitarian principles".
Activity
5
(30 minutes)
Tell participants to turn to the last page of Handout 2.2. Ask them
to work in their groups formed in the previous session to complete the
exercise. They have 15 minutes to complete the task.
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Group
work
Discuss
the following:
- Can
you give an example of when humanitarian actors claim to be
delivering impartial humanitarian aid, but in fact the delivery
of aid is both partisan and partial?
- Is
it possible to have, for example, impartial delivery of aid,
but being partisan as a humanitarian actor?
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Invite the
groups to discuss their answers in plenary (10 minutes).
Answer key
During the
Cold War it happened that states made claims that their aid was humanitarian
in assisting one side or the other of a particular conflict. But in
such situations, not only did states take a standpoint as far as the
conflict was concerned, thereby losing their neutrality, but they also
delivered assistance to an area which benefited only one party of the
conflict, thereby not being impartial. Donors in giving money to the
humanitarian actors may have a partisan agenda, but are ensuring that
the money is spent according to the principle of impartiality by giving
it to a humanitarian organization
Activity
6
(10 minutes)
Explain that the three principles discussed, namely the humanitarian
imperative, neutrality and impartiality, should be an absolute minimum
in building up a framework for the delivery of humanitarian assistance
in a complex emergency, but a number of other important issues should
also be considered for humanitarian aid to be principled. Use Overhead
Transparencies 2.7 to 2.12 to present the following:
Five additional
points on which to base activities
- First:
-not to prolong a conflict or do no/less harm: Aid becomes
part of the dynamics of the conflict and may even prolong it, and
the question then is how can the aid community do as little harm as
possible? Aid increases resources available in the society overall,
and the argument is that aid therefore sustains conflict. The humanitarian
actors need to be aware of this and see how they can minimize the
harm in the following situations:
 |
- When
aid is used as an instrument of war by denying access or attacking
convoys.
- When
aid is an indirect part of the dynamics of the conflict because
it creates jobs, gives incomes in form of taxes, leaves no or
little responsibility on the state for social welfare, etc.
- When
aid exacerbates the root causes of the conflict by securing
rebel activities.
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(Overhead Transparency 2.8)
- Second:
-to respect culture and custom: Understanding local customs
and traditions is, of course, important, not only in carrying out
your work, but also in understanding local values when connecting
them to internationally recognized human rights. In promoting human
rights standards, it is always important to point out, however, that
human rights are not culturally relative, but that certain universally
accepted human right are applicable to all human beings, no matter
what the cultural setting. Some interventions require particular sensitivity
to local customs. For example, in dealing with victims of rape it
is important to be aware of how rape and victims of rape are perceived
in the local community.
(Overhead
Transparency 2.9)
- Third:
-to enhance capacity building: Humanitarian action tends to
be looking at short-term needs and forgets the responsibilities of
the aid community to give sustainable aid. Because of breakdown of
local service delivery and administrative structures there is reliance
on external support. In our work it becomes important to focus on
capacity building and participation of beneficiaries in all that we
do. As a result, part of the strategy must be to empower civil society
so that the beneficiaries are able to claim accountability from governing
authorities and humanitarian agencies.
(Overhead
Transparency 2.10)
- Fourth:
-to coordinate efforts for the maximum benefit: Not only must
different agencies make sure they complement each other in the actual
delivery of aid, but it is also important that decisions about, for
example, stopping the delivery of aid are taken in a principled fashion.
This may be cause for major disagreement between aid agencies, as
it tends to be difficult to agree the development of policies on some
more sensitive areas of coordination. Nevertheless, humanitarian actors
must have a common standpoint for maximum benefit. But coordinating
for the maximum benefit also entails creating an alliance of partnership
in government and civil society. Such is, for example, the role of
UNICEF in maximizing the protection of the rights of the child.
(Overhead
Transparency 2.11)
- Fifth:
- to take gender dimensions into account: Many aspects of emergency
response – from camp facilities to food access, to disruption of employment,
to risk of violence, to social standing – will affect men and women
differently, with the impact often most severe on women. Just as important,
the experience of war, displacement, loss of family members, etc.
is likely to affect the social relationships between genders. Recognition
of this reality is a core element of sound action.
(Overhead
Transparency 2.12)
Distribute
Handout 2.3: "Framework for the delivery of humanitarian
assistance". Indicate that this handout reflects what you just
discussed.
Activity
7
(40 minutes)
Ask participants
to divide into two groups and debate the exercise on disengagement Handout
2.3. They have 15 minutes. Lead a plenary discussion taking into
account the comments in the "answer key" below.
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Group
work: Exercise on Disengagement
Humanitarian
organizations have been criticized for providing aid to Hutu refugees
in the camps in Eastern Zaire. The aid, it is argued, is being
controlled by men who carried out acts of genocide and it is allowing
them to prepare for continued attacks in Rwanda. By providing
humanitarian assistance in a context of increasing violence, aid
is simply sustaining a violent status quo. Withdrawing aid would
help reaching a solution to the situation. Others argue that abandoning
women, children and elderly people to die from starvation is unconscionable
whatever the circumstances. You have been given either the role
of the human rights NGO, which favors pulling out from the situation,
or the humanitarian organization which favors staying engaged.
Answer the following questions and debate the different arguments:
- What
humanitarian principles are at stake?
- In
a decision to stay engaged or disengage, what conditions, if
any, might justify staying withdrawing humanitarian assistance?
- Who
would have the right to make such a decision?
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Answer key
The debate
here is between the humanitarian imperative and considerations about
doing no/less harm. One may argue that the aid is partisan by aiding
the Hutu element in the camp, but it would not be possible to argue
that this aid is partial, because all those in need in the camp are
receiving aid.
There is no
one right answer to what conditions may justify withdrawal, it is a
matter of process within the humanitarian community. Certain human rights
violations may lead to a decision about withdrawal, for example when
aid supports discrimination of a certain group of people. The decision,
it can be argued, should take place after a careful analysis and should
not be undermined by other humanitarian actors.
Each humanitarian
organization may have its own criteria for withdrawing, which is a major
challenge for co-ordinated aid.
Allow for some
discussion at this point.
Activity
8
(5 minutes)
Wrap up the session
referring back to the session objectives
(Overhead Transparency 2.1).
PowerPoint:
Humanitarian principles
