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Humanitarian Governance

Humanitarian Governance. Laura Hammond Dept of Development Studies, SOAS SOAS/Mo Ibrahim Foundation Seminar on Governance and Development April 2014 Mauritius. Outline of the Session.

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Humanitarian Governance

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  1. Humanitarian Governance Laura Hammond Dept of Development Studies, SOAS SOAS/Mo Ibrahim Foundation Seminar on Governance and Development April 2014 Mauritius

  2. Outline of the Session • What is Humanitarian Governance? How does it relate to other aspects of governance we’ve been studying this week. • Responsibility to Protect – expectations of the state & humanitarian organisations • Accountability – where does it come from? • Changes in, and challenges of, humanitarian governance

  3. Humanitarian Governance Defined • Rules, structures and mechanisms for promoting accountable and effective humanitarian practice, including prevention, mitigation, management, response, and recovery from disasters of all types. • Actors can include states (at all levels) but also regional bodies, LNGOs, INGOs, donors, UN agencies, etc. • Focus on saving lives, alleviating suffering • How can this be done most efficiently, with fewest adverse effects – how does it affect other forms of governance?

  4. Host Government Security, appeal for help, Regulation, some coordination NGO NGO UN agencies– funding, coordination, protection ICRC/Red Cross NGO (wat/san) NGO (health) NGO (education) NGO (food) Community Rep Community Rep Community Rep

  5. Humanitarian Responses to... • Rapid onset disasters – • floods, storms, earthquakes, tsunami, communicable disease epidemics • Slow onset disaster • drought, climate change effects, chronic disease at epidemic levels • Complex emergencies • conflict, state failure, often overlaid with natural disaster - Usually these three are interrelated

  6. How would you describehumanitarian actors in your country? Q. • what is their reputation? • what kind of relationship do they have with the state? • with local people?

  7. How is the state seen by humanitarian actors in your country? Q. • Do they engage directly –including channelling funds through government? • Does the state facilitate or constrain humanitarian action?

  8. State-Donor relations through history • 1970s-80s: donors gave through direct payment to the state, even balance of payments support (Harvey 2009). INGOs peripheral • 1990s – shift to support through NGOs, Red Cross. Assumed states were too weak or corrupt to handle aid themselves • 2000s – resurgence in interest in direct assistance – recognition of increasing state capacity • Emphasis on national ownership

  9. Role of the State • State has the first ‘Responsibility to Protect’ – Sovereignty has obligations and rights • State ideally should be able to respond to risks/disasters on its own • Where it requires assistance, it should be able to coordinate, approve intervention plans, see and approve budgets, and evaluate (or see evaluations) of external activities • International norms & legal instruments can be used to back up national responsibility

  10. Role of Humanitarian/Development Organisations • Provide protection & life-saving assistance if state cannot or will not • Under IHL, states must, if they are unable or unwilling to assist civilians, grant access to an organisation ‘like the ICRC’. • Doesn’t mean that all NGOs have a right to access • Natural disasters – state must usually invite international intervention

  11. How to work? • Independence, Neutrality, Impartiality are Key to preserving access usually • HOs must choose between capacity building, service substitution, advocacy (& sometimes denunciation) • Where states do not uphold social contract, IOs often see it as their role to speak out • But adherence to principles may result in distance between HOs and govt • Other humanitarians work for justice, equity, empowerment – these may be at odds with principles

  12. Politics of Humanitarian Governance • Strong response can provide a political boost • Conditionality regularly used to guide political policy • Humanitarian assistance used for state-building, hearts & minds • Humanitarian principles often used only with regard to humanitarian action & not development

  13. The accountability vaccuum • Without regulation/registration, international organisations are not likely to self-regulate • Some accountability mechanisms: Humanitarian Accountability Partnership, Red Cross Code of Conduct, Sphere Guidelines, etc. • Coordination problems • But state regulation of humanitarian governance can also be used as a way of maintaining control over citizens, restricting LNGO activities, curtailing human rights

  14. Changes/Challenges • Role of China as an Economic Partner • ‘Emergent’ donor countries – Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE • Increasing role of Diaspora in funding, providing humanitarian assistance • Faith-based humanitarianism (arguably not new, but its role is increasingly recognized)

  15. Conclusions • Humanitarian (& Development) Governance part of wider governance debates • Humanitarian space can be a ‘black hole’ of accountability • Effective system comes from leadership as well as insistence on accountability & service from below • Contradiction: provide support to government but preserve independence to be able to protect those who need it

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