Humanitarian Assistance in Modern Conflicts

During the last 15 years one could observe a new
trend whereby military forces were assigned
humanitarian roles as a means to use humanitarian
assistance in a broader political sense, such as
development aid and state building. This trend
weakened the perception of humanitarians as neutral
and impartial. Humanitarian workers were perceived
as part of the armed forces and thus as legitimate
targets. Many have debated this subject in recent
years.
The author takes a step back to analyze the
underlying legal principles of humanitarian aid
which might entail useful guidelines for the way
ahead. Departing from an examination of the
principles of impartiality and neutrality, he
elaborates on the development of humanitarian
assistance from the Balkan to Iraq, taking the
emerging problems such as the issues of blurring
responsibilities and staff security into
consideration. After some reflections on the
changing patterns of conflict, the author takes a
strictly legal approach in examining the legal basis
of humanitarian assistance, concluding with some
recommendations.
This monograph targets civilian and military
assistance workers alike, as well as academics.

Autorentext

Jörg Krempel, LL.M. International Human Rights (University of the Western Cape), M.A. Conflict and Security Studies (Institut d'Etudes Politiques, Paris), German State Exam in Law (Humboldt University, Berlin). Worked for Human Rights NGOs in South Africa, Cambodia and Belgium. Consultant at UNESCO's Human Rights Section.

Klappentext

During the last 15 years one could observe a new trend whereby military forces were assigned humanitarian roles as a means to use humanitarian assistance in a broader political sense, such as development aid and state building. This trend weakened the perception of humanitarians as neutral and impartial. Humanitarian workers were perceived as part of the armed forces and thus as legitimate targets. Many have debated this subject in recent years. The author takes a step back to analyze the underlying legal principles of humanitarian aid which might entail useful guidelines for the way ahead. Departing from an examination of the principles of impartiality and neutrality, he elaborates on the development of humanitarian assistance from the Balkan to Iraq, taking the emerging problems such as the issues of blurring responsibilities and staff security into consideration. After some reflections on the changing patterns of conflict, the author takes a strictly legal approach in examining the legal basis of humanitarian assistance, concluding with some recommendations.This monograph targets civilian and military assistance workers alike, as well as academics.