The road to military humanitarianism: How the human rights NGOs shaped a new humanitarian agenda

Human Rights Quarterly

Volumn 23, Issue 3, 2001, Pages 678-700

  Chandler, David ^b  

^a LEEDS METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^b NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

FOREIGN POLICY; HUMAN RIGHTS; HUMANITARIAN AID; NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION;

EID: 0034850505     PISSN: 02750392     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/hrq.2001.0031     Document Type: Article

References (140)

1. For further information, see 〈http://www.icrc.org〉.
2. See Daniel Warner, The Politics of the Political/Humanitarian Divide, 81 INT'L REV. RED CROSS 109 (1999).
3. Id. at 109 (quoting Cornelio Sommaruga, Humanitarian Action and Peace-Keeping Operations, 76 INT'L REV. RED CROSS 17 (1995)).
4. Id. at 109 (quoting Cornelio Sommaruga, Humanitarian Action and Peace-Keeping Operations, 76 INT'L REV. RED CROSS 17 (1995)).
5. Larry Minear, The Theory and Practice of Neutrality: Some Thoughts on the Tensions, 81 INT'L REV. RED CROSS 63, 66 (1999) (quoting JEAN PICTET, THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE RED CROSS 56 (1999)).
6. Larry Minear, The Theory and Practice of Neutrality: Some Thoughts on the Tensions, 81 INT'L REV. RED CROSS 63, 66 (1999) (quoting JEAN PICTET, THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE RED CROSS 56 (1999)).
7. MICHAEL IGNATIEFF, THE WARRIOR'S HONOR: ETHNIC WAR AND THE MODERN CONSCIENCE 119 (1998) [hereinafter IGNATIEFF, WARRIOR'S HONOR].
8. MICHAEL IGNATIEFF, THE WARRIOR'S HONOR: ETHNIC WAR AND THE MODERN CONSCIENCE 119 (1998) [hereinafter IGNATIEFF, WARRIOR'S HONOR].
9. For further information, see 〈http://www.amnesty.org:〉.
10. For further information, see 〈http://www.unhcr.ch〉.
11. For further information, see 〈http://www.savethechildren.org.uk〉.
12. For further information, see 〈http://www.oxfam.org.uk〉.
13. See ALEX DE WAAL, FAMINE CRIMES: POLITICS AND THE DISASTER RELIEF INDUSTRY IN AFRICA 72-77 (1997); Thomas G. Weiss, Principles, Politics and Humanitarian Action, 13 ETHICS & INT'L AFF. 1, 3 (1999) [hereinafter Weiss, Principles].
14. See ALEX DE WAAL, FAMINE CRIMES: POLITICS AND THE DISASTER RELIEF INDUSTRY IN AFRICA 72-77 (1997); Thomas G. Weiss, Principles, Politics and Humanitarian Action, 13 ETHICS & INT'L AFF. 1, 3 (1999) [hereinafter Weiss, Principles].
15. See ALEX DE WAAL, FAMINE CRIMES: POLITICS AND THE DISASTER RELIEF INDUSTRY IN AFRICA 72-77 (1997); Thomas G. Weiss, Principles, Politics and Humanitarian Action, 13 ETHICS & INT'L AFF. 1, 3 (1999) [hereinafter Weiss, Principles].
16. See DE WAAL, supra note 10, at 77-79.
17. BEN WHITAKER, A BRIDGE OF PEOPLE: A PERSONAL VIEW OF OXFAM'S FIRST FORTY YEARS 11 (1983).
18. See Helen Searls, The NGO Revolution (1995) (unpublished discussion paper, on file with the author).
19. See id.
20. Bruce Nichols, Rubberband Humanitarianism, 1 ETHICS & INT'L AFF. 191, 195 (1987).
21. Nicholas Leader, Proliferating Principles; Or How to Sup with the Devil without Getting Eaten, 22 DISASTERS 288, 295 (1998).
22. See World Conference on Religion and Peace World Conference on Religion and Peace - Task Force on Ethical and Legal Issues in Humanitarian Assisiatance, The Mohonk Criteria for Humanitarian Assisatance in Complex Emergencies (1994) (visited 3 apr. 2001) 〈http://www.wcp.org/whatsnew/Humanitarian.html〉; Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief, Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (1994) (for information on the Red Cross code of conduct, see 〈http://www.icrc.org/icreng.nsf/〉; LARRY MINEAR AND THOMAS G. WEISS, HUMANITARIAN ACTION IN TIMES OF WAR: A HANDBOOK FOR PRACTIONERS (1993) (for information on the Providence Principles).
23. See World Conference on Religion and Peace World Conference on Religion and Peace - Task Force on Ethical and Legal Issues in Humanitarian Assisiatance, The Mohonk Criteria for Humanitarian Assisatance in Complex Emergencies (1994) (visited 3 apr. 2001) 〈http://www.wcp.org/whatsnew/Humanitarian.html〉; Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief, Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (1994) (for information on the Red Cross code of conduct, see 〈http://www.icrc.org/icreng.nsf/〉; LARRY MINEAR AND THOMAS G. WEISS, HUMANITARIAN ACTION IN TIMES OF WAR: A HANDBOOK FOR PRACTIONERS (1993) (for information on the Providence Principles).
24. See World Conference on Religion and Peace World Conference on Religion and Peace - Task Force on Ethical and Legal Issues in Humanitarian Assisiatance, The Mohonk Criteria for Humanitarian Assisatance in Complex Emergencies (1994) (visited 3 apr. 2001) 〈http://www.wcp.org/whatsnew/Humanitarian.html〉; Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief, Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (1994) (for information on the Red Cross code of conduct, see 〈http://www.icrc.org/icreng.nsf/〉; LARRY MINEAR AND THOMAS G. WEISS, HUMANITARIAN ACTION IN TIMES OF WAR: A HANDBOOK FOR PRACTIONERS (1993) (for information on the Providence Principles).
25. See Leader, supra note 16, at 296-98.
26. See id.
27. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are examples of solidarity NGOs while the developmental approach better describes the work for charities such as Oxfam or Save the Children. There is no firm dividing line between these spheres and many NGOs, such as Médicins sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), are increasingly involved in both.
28. Leader, supra note 16, at 298.
29. See DE WAAL, supra note 10, 1t 72-77; Weiss, Principles, supra note 10, at 3.
30. See DE WAAL, supra note 10, 1t 72-77; Weiss, Principles, supra note 10, at 3.
31. See DE WAAL, supra note 10, at 73-74.
32. See id.
33. Id. at 75 (a public statement by Oxfam as quoted in MAGGIE BLACK, A CAUSE FOR OUR TIMES: OXFAM THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS 127 (1992)).
34. Id. at 75 (a public statement by Oxfam as quoted in MAGGIE BLACK, A CAUSE FOR OUR TIMES: OXFAM THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS 127 (1992)).
35. See id. at 72-77.
36. Id. at 76
37. (Bernard Kouchner as quoted in JONATHON BENTHALL, DISASTERS, RELIEF AND THE MEDIA 125 (1993)).
38. For further information, see 〈http://www.msf.org〉.
39. See Leader, supra note 16, at 300.
40. James Orbinski, The Nobel Lecture given by the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1999: Médecins sans Frontières (10 Dec. 1999) (visited 3 April 2001) 〈http://www.nobel.no /eng_lect_99m.html〉.
41. See David Rieff, Humanitarian Intervention, in CRIMES OF WAR: WHAT THE PUBLIC SHOULD KNOW 181, 184 (Roy Gutman & David Rieff eds., 1999); Michael Pugh, Military Intervention and Humanitarian Action: Trends and Issues, 22 DISASTERS 339 341 (1998).
42. See David Rieff, Humanitarian Intervention, in CRIMES OF WAR: WHAT THE PUBLIC SHOULD KNOW 181, 184 (Roy Gutman & David Rieff eds., 1999); Michael Pugh, Military Intervention and Humanitarian Action: Trends and Issues, 22 DISASTERS 339 341 (1998).
43. Leader, supra note 16, at 297 (quoting George Foulkes, UK Policy on Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance: Speech at the Overseas Development Council, London (17 Mar. 1998)).
44. Leader, supra note 16, at 297 (quoting George Foulkes, UK Policy on Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance: Speech at the Overseas Development Council, London (17 Mar. 1998)).
45. See Pugh, supra note 31, at 340.
46. See Searls, supra note 13.
47. See Mark Robinson, An Uncertain Partnership: The Overseas Development Administration and the Voluntary Sector in the 1980s, in BRITISH OVERSEAS AID SINCE 1979: BETWEEN IDEALISM AND SELF-INTEREST 171 (Anuradha Bose & Peter Burnell eds., 1999).
48. "South" is used interchangeably with "Third World" to indicate the geopolitical divide between developed and developing countries.
49. WHITAKER, supra note 12, at 21.
50. See Searls, supra note 13.
51. See generally DEVELOPMENT POLICY AND PUBLIC ACTION (Marc Wuyts, Maureen Mackintosh, & Tom Hewitt eds., 1992).
52. See DAVID P. FORSYTHE, HUMAN RIGHTS AND WORLD POLITICS 27 (2d ed. 1989).
53. WHITAKER, supra note 12, at 51.
54. See DE WAAL, supra note 10, at 65.
55. DAVID KORTEN, GETTING INTO THE 21ST CENTURY: VOLUNTARY ACTION AND THE GLOBAL AGENDA 95 (1990).
56. Searls, supra note 13 (citing R. Palmer & J. Rossiter).
57. Michael Edwards & David Hulme, NGOs and Development: Performance and Accountability in the New World Order (1994) (unpublished background paper for an international workshop - NGOs and Development: Performance and Accountability in the New World, University of Manchester, 27-29 June 1994, on file with author); see also Michael Edwards & David Hulme, Introduction: NGO Performance and Accountability, in BEYOND THE MAGIC BULLET: NGO PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE POST-COLD WAR WORLD 2 (Michael Edwards & David Hulme eds., 1996).
58. Michael Edwards & David Hulme, NGOs and Development: Performance and Accountability in the New World Order (1994) (unpublished background paper for an international workshop - NGOs and Development: Performance and Accountability in the New World, University of Manchester, 27-29 June 1994, on file with author); see also Michael Edwards & David Hulme, Introduction: NGO Performance and Accountability, in BEYOND THE MAGIC BULLET: NGO PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE POST-COLD WAR WORLD 2 (Michael Edwards & David Hulme eds., 1996).
59. See Susan D. Burgerman, Mobilizing Principles: The Role of Transnational Activists in Promoting Human Rights Principles, 20 HUM. RTS. Q. 905 (1998).
60. See Nicholas Stockton, In Defense of Humanitarianism, 22 DISASTERS 352 355 (1998).
61. See NEIL MIDDLETON & PHIL O'KEEFE, DISASTER AND DEVELOPMENT: THE POLITICS OF HUMANITARIAN AID (1998); M. Duffield, The Symphony of the Damned: Racial Discourse Complex Emergencies and Humanitarian Aid, 20 DISASTERS 173 (1996).
62. See NEIL MIDDLETON & PHIL O'KEEFE, DISASTER AND DEVELOPMENT: THE POLITICS OF HUMANITARIAN AID (1998); M. Duffield, The Symphony of the Damned: Racial Discourse Complex Emergencies and Humanitarian Aid, 20 DISASTERS 173 (1996).
63. See Leader, supra note 16, at 297.
64. Id. at 297 (quoting J. Goodhand & D. Hulme, NGOs and Peace-building in Complex Political Emergencies; An Introduction 5 (1998)).
65. Id. at 297 (quoting J. Goodhand & D. Hulme, NGOs and Peace-building in Complex Political Emergencies; An Introduction 5 (1998)).
66. Joanna Macrae, The Death of Humanitarianism?: An Anatomy of the Attack, 22 DISASTERS 309, 312 (1998).
67. See id. at 314.
68. Pugh, supra note 31, at 340.
69. Max Boot, Paving the Road to Hell: The Failure of UN Peacekeeping, 79 FOR. AFF. 143, 148 (2000) (reviewing WILLIAM SHAWCROSS, DELIVER US FROM EVIL: PEACEKEEPERS, WARLORDS, AND A WORLD OF ENDLESS CONFLICT (2000)).
70. Max Boot, Paving the Road to Hell: The Failure of UN Peacekeeping, 79 FOR. AFF. 143, 148 (2000) (reviewing WILLIAM SHAWCROSS, DELIVER US FROM EVIL: PEACEKEEPERS, WARLORDS, AND A WORLD OF ENDLESS CONFLICT (2000)).
71. See DE WAAL, supra note 10, at 82-83.
72. See id.
73. Audrey Gillan, The Propaganda War, GUARDIAN, 21 Aug. 2000, at 20, available on 〈http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4053656,00. html〉.
74. Id.
75. MICK HUME, WHOSE WAR IS IT ANYWAY 15 (1997).
76. See DE WAAL, supra note 10, at 82.
77. See Florence Hartmann, Bosnia, in CRIMES OF WAR, supra note 31, at 50, 54; for a critique, see BARRIE COLLINS, OBEDIENCE IN RWANDA: A CRITICAL QUESTION (1997).
78. See Florence Hartmann, Bosnia, in CRIMES OF WAR, supra note 31, at 50, 54; for a critique, see BARRIE COLLINS, OBEDIENCE IN RWANDA: A CRITICAL QUESTION (1997).
79. Pierre Krähenbahl, Conflict in the Balkans: Human Tragedies and the Challenge to Independent Humanitarian Action, 837 INT'L REV. RED CROSS 11, 26 (2000).
80. R.J. Vincent, Conclusion, in FOREIGN POLICY AND HUMAN RIGHTS: ISSUES AND RESPONSES 261, 264 (R.J. Vincent ed., 1986).
81. See DE WAAL, supra note 10, at 133.
82. IGNATIEFF, WARRIOR'S HONOR, supra note 5, at 22-23.
83. Id. at 23.
84. Id.
85. Id. at 25.
86. See John Mackinlay & Randolph Kent, A New Approach to Complex Emergencies, 4 INT'L PEACEKEEPING 31-49 (1997); Bradd C. Hayes & Jeffrey I. Sands, Non-Traditional Military Responses to End Wars: Considerations for Policymakers, 26 MILLENNIUM 819-44 (1997);
87. See John Mackinlay & Randolph Kent, A New Approach to Complex Emergencies, 4 INT'L PEACEKEEPING 31-49 (1997); Bradd C. Hayes & Jeffrey I. Sands, Non-Traditional Military Responses to End Wars: Considerations for Policymakers, 26 MILLENNIUM 819-44 (1997);
88. Roland Paris, Peacebuilding and the Limits of Liberal Internationalism, 22 INT'L SECURITY 54-89 (1997).
89. See Report of the Secretary-General: An Agenda for Peace: Preventive Diplomacy, Peacemaking and Peace-keeping, U.N. Doc. A/47/277-S/24111(17 June 1992); Report of the Secretary-General: Development and International Economic Cooperation, U.N. Doc. A/48/935 (6 May 1994); Report of the Secretary-General: Supplement to an Agenda for Peace: Position Paper of the Secretary-General on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations, U.N. Doc. A/50/60-S/1995/1 (3 Jan. 1995); Millennium Report of the Secretary-General: "We the Peoples": The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century, Millennium Report of the Secretary-General, U.N. Doc. A/ 54/2000 (2000), available on 〈http://www.un.org/millennium/sg/report〉.
90. See Report of the Secretary-General: An Agenda for Peace: Preventive Diplomacy, Peacemaking and Peace-keeping, U.N. Doc. A/47/277-S/24111(17 June 1992); Report of the Secretary-General: Development and International Economic Cooperation, U.N. Doc. A/48/935 (6 May 1994); Report of the Secretary-General: Supplement to an Agenda for Peace: Position Paper of the Secretary-General on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations, U.N. Doc. A/50/60-S/1995/1 (3 Jan. 1995); Millennium Report of the Secretary-General: "We the Peoples": The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century, Millennium Report of the Secretary-General, U.N. Doc. A/ 54/2000 (2000), available on 〈http://www.un.org/millennium/sg/report〉.
91. See Report of the Secretary-General: An Agenda for Peace: Preventive Diplomacy, Peacemaking and Peace-keeping, U.N. Doc. A/47/277-S/24111(17 June 1992); Report of the Secretary-General: Development and International Economic Cooperation, U.N. Doc. A/48/935 (6 May 1994); Report of the Secretary-General: Supplement to an Agenda for Peace: Position Paper of the Secretary-General on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations, U.N. Doc. A/50/60-S/1995/1 (3 Jan. 1995); Millennium Report of the Secretary-General: "We the Peoples": The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century, Millennium Report of the Secretary-General, U.N. Doc. A/ 54/2000 (2000), available on 〈http://www.un.org/millennium/sg/report〉.
92. See Report of the Secretary-General: An Agenda for Peace: Preventive Diplomacy, Peacemaking and Peace-keeping, U.N. Doc. A/47/277-S/24111(17 June 1992); Report of the Secretary-General: Development and International Economic Cooperation, U.N. Doc. A/48/935 (6 May 1994); Report of the Secretary-General: Supplement to an Agenda for Peace: Position Paper of the Secretary-General on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations, U.N. Doc. A/50/60-S/1995/1 (3 Jan. 1995); Millennium Report of the Secretary-General: "We the Peoples": The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century, Millennium Report of the Secretary-General, U.N. Doc. A/ 54/2000 (2000), available on 〈http://www.un.org/millennium/sg/report〉.
93. See Leader, supra note 16, at 296.
94. See id. at 298.
95. GEOFFREY ROBERTSON QC, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY: THE STRUGGLE FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE xix (2000).
96. IGNATIEFF, WARRIOR'S HONOR, supra note 5, at 119.
97. Michael Ignatieff, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in CRIMES OF WAR, supra note 31, at 202, 204.
98. IGNATIEFF, WARRIORS HONOR, supra note 5, at 124.
99. Minear, supra note 4, at 66 (quoting JEAN PICTET, THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE RED CROSS 60 (1979)).
100. Minear, supra note 4, at 66 (quoting JEAN PICTET, THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE RED CROSS 60 (1979)).
101. See JOHN F. HUTCHINSON, CHAMPIONS OF CHARITY: WAR AND THE RISE OF THE RED CROSS (1996).
102. Hugo Slim & Isobel McConnan, A Swiss Prince, A Glass Slipper and the Feet of 15 British Aid Agencies: A Study of DEC Agency Positions on Humanitarian Principles, Oxford: Disasters Emergency Committee (1998).
103. Minear, supra note 4, at 66.
104. Id.
105. Fiona Fox, The Politicisation of Humanitarian Aid (1999) (draft discussion paper for Caritas Europa).
106. Leader, supra note 16, at 299.
107. Weiss, Principles, supra note 10, at 14-15.
108. Fox, supra note 82.
109. Id.
110. Id.
111. See DE WAAL, supra note 10, at 195; Stockton, supra note 47, at 353.
112. See DE WAAL, supra note 10, at 195; Stockton, supra note 47, at 353.
113. Orbinski, supra note 30.
114. See Macrae, supra note 51, at 312.
115. See Leader, supra note 16, at 304-05.
116. See Stockton, supra note 47, at 353.
117. Philip Bloomer, The Chronicle Interview, UN CHRONICLE, 2:1999, at 18, 20.
118. Id.
119. Stockton, supra note 47, at 354.
120. Id. at 356.
121. Fox, supra note 82.
122. ROBERTSON, supra note 73, at 417.
123. OLIVER RAMSBOTHAM & TOM WOODHOUSE, HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION IN CONTEMPORARY CONFLICT: A RECONCEPTUALIZATION 9 (1996).
124. Id. (quoting A. Roberts, "The Road to Hell": A Critique of Humanitarian Intervention, 16 HARV. INT'L REV. 10, 13 (1993)).
125. Id. (quoting A. Roberts, "The Road to Hell": A Critique of Humanitarian Intervention, 16 HARV. INT'L REV. 10, 13 (1993)).
126. P. Fuchs, Handling Information in Humanitarian Operations Within Armed Conflicts, 1999, available on 〈http://www.oss.net/Proceedings/ossaaa/aaa4/aaa4ae.html〉.
127. Gil Loescher, Refugees: a Global Human Rights and Security Crisis, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN GLOBAL POLITICS 233, 241 (Tim Dunne & Nicholas J. Wheeler eds., 1999).
128. See DAVID P. FORSYTHE, HUMAN RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 74 (2000).
129. See Thomas G. Weiss, The Politics of Humanitarian Ideas, 31 SECURITY DIALOGUE 11, 14 (2000).
130. See generally Adam Roberts, The Role of Humanitarian Issues in International Politics in the 1990s, 81 INT'L REV. RED CROSS 19 (1999).
131. Stockton, supra note 47, at 356.
132. See Andy McSmith & Jason Burke, Britain Slashes Aid to Ethiopia, OBSERVER, 9 Apr. 2000, at 1; Editorial, For Our Sake, Don't Cut Third World Aid, OBSERVER, 9 Apr. 2000, at 28.
133. See Andy McSmith & Jason Burke, Britain Slashes Aid to Ethiopia, OBSERVER, 9 Apr. 2000, at 1; Editorial, For Our Sake, Don't Cut Third World Aid, OBSERVER, 9 Apr. 2000, at 28.
134. See Roberts, supra note 105, at 31.
135. Rieff, supra note 31, at 184.
136. Weiss, Principles, supra note 10, at 21.
137. See Pugh, supra note 31, at 343; DAVID CHANDLER, BOSNIA: FAKING DEMOCRACY AFTER DAYTON (1999).
138. See Pugh, supra note 31, at 343; DAVID CHANDLER, BOSNIA: FAKING DEMOCRACY AFTER DAYTON (1999).
139. See Laura Rozen, Humanitarian Aid, BOSTON GLOBE, 30 July 2000, at F2; Laura Rozen, Bread instead of Soldiers, SALON, 7 Aug. 2000 (visited 3 April 2001) 〈http://www.salon.com /news/feature/2000/08/07/aid/print.html〉.
140. See Laura Rozen, Humanitarian Aid, BOSTON GLOBE, 30 July 2000, at F2; Laura Rozen, Bread instead of Soldiers, SALON, 7 Aug. 2000 (visited 3 April 2001) 〈http://www.salon.com /news/feature/2000/08/07/aid/print.html〉.