Humanitarian Aid

Assistance provided to the victims of natural disasters, conflicts, or social unrest. Humanitarian aid typically includes essential goods such as food, fresh water, emergency shelter, medical supplies, fuel, and clothing. However, humanitarian aid may also represent preventive assistance to protect individuals from further catastrophes.

True humanitarian aid is seen as assistance that has no political context or conditions attached and must be provided without discrimination on any grounds. The sole mission should be to prevent or alleviate human suffering according to the needs of the victims. The United Nations is the leading organizer of humanitarian aid, sponsoring such efforts as the UN High Commission for Refugees, the UN Children's Fund, and the World Food Program. Other organizations such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and CARE also underwrite large-scale humanitarian aid missions.

During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union often used humanitarian aid programs to entice potential political allies. The promise of aid—or the threat of losing aid—could be a powerful tool to maintain influence over client nations. Since the end of the Cold War, the amount of humanitarian assistance provided by wealthy nations has increased dramatically, along with debates over how best to provide that assistance. Over the past decade, some aid organizations have attempted to create a system of standards to professionalize the aid industry and to make it more responsible and accountable to both donors and recipients, mainly in the area of disaster relief.

The best-known endeavor along these lines is the Sphere Project, which was launched in 1997 by a group of humanitarian nongovernmental organizations and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movements. The project includes a handbook with a humanitarian charter, a code of conduct, and list of minimum standards that should be met during the provision of aid. The charter is based on international legal principles and includes the right to a life with dignity, the distinction between combatants and noncombatants, and a prohibition on returning refugees to unsafe areas.

Some aid organizations, however, have criticized the Sphere Project for a variety of reasons. They contend [Page 341]that different situations on the ground mean that universal standards are useless; that the humanitarian charter creates a right to assistance that is not supported by international law; and that the handbook stresses the technical aspects of aid provision far too much. These debates illustrate some of the complex issues involved in providing aid in times of war and disaster.

A U.S. Army officer of the 82nd Airborne Division (Chief Warrant Officer Henriquez) handing a box of humanitarian aid and rations to a child in central Iraq in April 2003. These supplies were part of a large humanitarian aid effort aimed at alleviating the suffering of Iraqi civilians during the 2003 Iraq War. Providing such humanitarian aid has always been a crucial component of military activities, both during and after armed conflicts.

U.S. Army.