Research and Studies

Humanitarian Aid Today: "The End of Political Innocence?"

Humanitarian Aid on the Move N°25

This 25th edition of Humanitarian Aid on the Move questions the very nature of humanitarian action. Rather than viewing it in relation to quality, this issue approaches humanitarian action from a much more political angle. After more than half a century of existence in its ‘modern’ form, there is currently a great deal of criticism of the humanitarian sector, including criticism of the concepts of neutrality, impartiality and independence. The question of its politicisation is increasingly being raised. Various stakeholders - particularly in the ‘South’ - now see it as a commercial sector like any other, serving national interests and a globalised ultra-liberal ideology. In the words of Haitian film-maker, Raoul Peck, (who made ‘Assistance mortelle’, a highly critical documentary on international aid to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, and who was the country’s Minister of Culture in 1996-97), could this be the «end of political innocence» for our sector?

This issue contains the following articles:

  • Reflecting on how to transform aid in a changing world, byVéronique de Geoffroy and Pauline Mahé
  • The relations between humanitarian aid and the political realm: past, present and future, by Pauline Mahé and Véronique de Geoffroy
  • Is a radical humanitarian sector possible? byBertrand Bréqueville
  • Re-politicising humanitarian NGOs in response to the climate emergency, by Johana Bretou-Klein
  • Point of view Haiti: civil society and citizen engagement in favour of an ecological and social transition and the emancipation of territories, by David Tilus
  • We need a new global pact to finance international humanitarian aid, by Pierre Micheletti
  • What can the humanitarian sector do to contribute to a ‘liveable earth’? by Pascal Revault
  • Interview with Tin Tin Htar Myint Chairwoman of the Association Doh Atu - Ensemble pour le Myanmar
  • Médecins Sans Frontières and rescue operations at sea: promoting alliances in a context of growing constraints, by Michaël Neuman
  • Briançon: providing exiled people with appropriate assistance - a human, civic and political adventure , byIsabelle Lorre

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