The scale and scope of international humanitarian action have increased significantly in the past two decades. Humanitarian action now covers a wide range of activities, conducted in a variety of contexts: from conflicts to natural disasters; in urban and rural environments; from long-term ‘protracted’ to shorter ‘rapid-onset’ crises. There have been repeated calls for general improvements in international humanitarian action and, recently, for clarification on how such action can become more effective in the various contexts in which it occurs