Humanitarian Intervention versus Humanitarian Action

Humanitarian Action

Humanitarian action, assistance, or aid refers to the delivery of resources or logistical support to civilian populations affected by political conflicts or natural disasters. Humanitarian assistance is often provided by international organizations, including UN agencies, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The primary objective of such assistance is to fulfill fundamental human rights by saving lives, relieving suffering, and maintaining human dignity. Humanitarian aid commonly includes food distribution, shelter, water, sanitation, and medical care. Aid delivered in humanitarian situations differs from development aid in that it does not aim to address the underlying socioeconomic factors that may have led to a crisis or emergency.

Contemporary humanitarian principles were codified in the Geneva Conventions, which were established in the aftermath of World War II. The Geneva Conventions outline the lawful conduct of war and form the basis of international humanitarian law. According to the conventions, governments are responsible for ensuring the survival and well-being of their civilian populations, particularly during times of war. However, if governments are unable to meet this responsibility, they are required to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid by third parties to civilians in need. The Geneva Conventions outline that neutral humanitarian organizations, such as the ICRC, can deliver humanitarian assistance with the approval of warring parties.

Since its inception, the ICRC has based its work upon the humanitarian principles of independence, impartiality, and neutrality. Independence ensures that NGOs can make decisions and act without the influence of governments, while impartiality refers to aid provision based solely upon the needs of the host populations. Neutrality requires an organization to refrain from taking sides in a conflict. By the end of the 20th century, the number of humanitarian actors had grown significantly, and the circumstances where aid was provided had expanded beyond international conflicts to include intrastate wars, international crimes committed by a state, and natural disasters.

Humanitarian Intervention

Humanitarian intervention refers to the use of armed force in one country by another country, or groups of countries, for humanitarian purposes (such as to end or reduce the suffering of populations in humanitarian crises). Such interventions are carried out with the aim of creating the conditions for peace and stability and to uphold the principles of international humanitarian and human rights law. Thus far, humanitarian interventions have tended to be comprised of Western-led forces intervening in internal conflicts within developing countries. Humanitarian interventions challenge the predominant notion of state sovereignty that is [Page 314]outlined in the UN Charter, and which has characterized international relations for almost four centuries. State sovereignty refers to the absolute and exclusive authority that a government has over its own territory, and within which other countries must refrain from interfering.

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