Mr BoShambles
jambiguous
Most humanitarian organizations are indeed keenly aware of the moral dilemmas of their operations and the pitfalls of the “humanitarian imperative”. Mary Anderson warns, however, that “it is a moral and logical fallacy to conclude that because aid can do harm, the decision not to give aid would do no harm. In reality, a decision to withhold aid from people in need would have unconscionable negative ramifications.” Fiona Terry, armed with a lot of practical experience, sees the problem pragmatically: “We can never construct the best world in which our compassion can immediately translate into an end of suffering, but we can try to build a second-best world based on hard-headed assessments of the needs and options.”
[whole article here]Practical dilemmas:
1. Within a country at war humanitarian operations can unintentionally bestow local and international legitimacy on rebel movements, local warlords or other powerful individuals. They need to negotiate access with the groups in charge of a certain area, thus implicitly recognizing their authority and legitimacy.
2. Humanitarian operations such as aid distributions and the provision of health services may assist those groups in controlling the population in their area, or even attract an influx of people from other areas.
3. Local power groups might derive considerable financial benefits from humanitarian operations by imposing charges on transports, levying taxes on imports and employees’ salaries, and collecting rent for warehouses, offices and residences.
4. Humanitarian aid has also been accused of fuelling war economies and prolonging conflict by providing assistance, directly or indirectly, to combatants and their military operations.
Broader philosophical/ideological dilemma:
Can humanitarianism be seen as a component of a broader "liberal project" which aims to transform "dysfunctional" and war ravaged societies into cooperative, respresentative and, especially, stable entities?
-- i.e. emphasis on / imposition of: market based reforms, "civil society" capacity building, democratisation processes etc.
[sure there are many more elements to consider - like for example the cooption of humanitarian operations by military forces -- i.e. in Afghanistan and Iraq]
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