Psychosocial health and human rights: fair weather friends? Examining post-tsunami interventions in conflict-affected areas

Australian Journal of Human Rights

Volumn 11, Issue 2, 2005, Pages 71-94

  Grove, Natalie J ^a   Zwi, Anthony B ^a   Silove, Derrick ^a   Tarantola, Daniel ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 37549034463     PISSN: 1323238X     EISSN: 2573573X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/1323238X.2005.11910808     Document Type: Article

References (52)

1. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, opened for signature 18 December 1979 (entered into force 3 September 1981)
2. Convention on the Rights of the Child, opened for signature 26 January 1990 (entered into force 2 September 1990)
3. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, opened for signature 7 March 1966 (entered into force 4 January 1969)
4. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, opened for signature 16 December 1966 (entered into force 23 March 1976)
5. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, opened for signature 16 December 1966 (entered into force 3 January 1976)
6. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted 10 December 1948
7. Amnesty International, Indonesia: The Role of Human Rights in the Wake of the Earthquake and Tsunami, a briefing for members of the consultative group on Indonesia, January 19-20, 2005 [Online] Available: [2005, December 20.
8. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (2005), Sri lAnka: Human Rights Issues in the Post-Tsunami Conflict, 31 May 2005 [Online] Available: [2005, December 20]
9. BBC News UK edition ‘At-a-glance: countries hit’ [Online] Available: [2005, August 8
10. Beaglehole R, Bonita R, Horton R, Adarns O and McKee M (2004) ‘Public health in the new era: improving health through collective action’ Lancet 363 pp 2084-86
11. Behnia B (2004) ‘Trust building from the perspective of survivors of war and torture’ Social Service Review March pp 26-40
12. Boyden J and de Berry J (2004) Children and Youth on the Frontline: Ethnography, Armed Conflict and Displacement Berghahn Books, New York
13. Bracken G and Summerfield D (1995) ‘Psychological responses to war and atrocity: the limitations of current concepts’ Social Science and Medicine 40 pp 1073-82
14. Carballo M, Heal B and Hemadez M (2005) ‘Psychosocial aspect of the tsunami’ Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 98 pp 396-99
15. Carballo M, Hemandez M, Schneider K and Welle E (2005) ‘Impact of the tsunami on reproductive health’ Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 98 pp 400-403
16. Collinson S (2002) ‘Politically informed humanitarian programming: using a political economy approach’ Humanitarian Practice Network 341
17. De Jong J T V M, Komproe I H, van Ommeren M (2003) ‘Common mental disorders in post-conflict settings’ 361 Lancet pp 2128-30
18. De Jong K, Prosser S and Ford N (2005) ‘Addressing psychosocial needs in the aftermath of the tsunami’ PLoS Medicine 2(6) pp e179
19. Duffield M (2001) Global Governance and the New Wars: The Merging of Development and Security Zed Books, London
20. Fustukian S and Zwi A B (2001) ‘Balancing imbalances: facilitating community perspectives in times of adversity’ Napa Bulletin 21 pp 17-35
21. Galappatti A (2005) ‘Reflections on post-tsunami psychosocial work’ Special Edition July Forced Migration Review pp 32-33
22. Gilson L (2003) ‘Trust and the development of health care as a social institution’ Social Science and Medicine 56(7) pp 1453-68
23. Gilson L (2005) ‘Editorial: building trust and value in health systems in low- and middle-income countries’ Social Science and Medicine 61(7) pp 1381-84
24. Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC) for Sumatra (2005) Contact Directory List [Online] Available: [2005, December 20]
25. Human Rights Watch Indonesia after the Tsunami: Achenese Fear Forced Relocation Human Rights News 7 February 2005 [Online] Available: [2005, December 20]
26. Human Rights Watch (2004) Aceh at War: Torture, Ill-Treatment and Unfair Trials Vol 16, no 1 [Online] Available: [2005, December 20]
27. Hunt P (2003) ‘The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health: key objectives, themes and interventions’ Health and Human Rights 7(1) pp 1-27
28. International Council of Voluntary Agencies (2005) A Review of NGO Coordination in Aceh Post Earthquake/Tsunami April 8, 2005 [Online] Available: [2005, July 26]
29. MacFarlane N (2000) Politics and Humanitarian Action, Occasional Paper 41 Thomas J Watson Jr Institute for International Studies and the International Human Rights Trust, Brown University, Providence
30. Macfarlane N, Racelis M and Muli-Muslime F (2000) ‘Public health in developing countries’ Lancet 365 pp 841-46
31. Macrae J (2001) Aiding Recovery? The Crisis of Aid in Chronic Political Emergencies Zed Books, London
32. Ministry of Health (Sri Lanka), Department of Mental Health Services (2005) National Plan of Action for the Management and Delivery of Psychosocial and Mental Health Services for People Affected by the Tsunami Disaster, 10 January 2005
33. Ministry of Health (Sri Lanka) (2005) Policy on Psychosocial and Mental Health Issues Related to the Tsunami Disaster in Sri Lanka, 19 January 2005
34. Mollica R F, Lopes Cardoza B, Osofsky H J, Raphael B, Ager A and Salama P (2004) ‘Mental health in complex emergencies’ Lancet 364 pp 2058-67
35. Mylle L (2005) ‘After the tsunami, the free for all: international agencies need to take the time to understand local groups’ Inside Indonesia [Online] Available: [2005, August 2]
36. Palmer CA and Zwi AB (1998) ‘Women, health and humanitarian aid in conflict’ Disasters 22(3) pp 236-49
37. Shuey D, Qosaj F, Schouten E and Zwi AB (2002) ‘Planning for health sector reform in post-conflict situations: Kosovo 1999-2000’ Health Policy 63 pp 299-310
38. Silove D and Zwi A B (2005) ‘Translating compassion into psychosocial aid after the tsunami’ The Lancet 365 pp 270-71
39. Silove D (2004) ‘The challenges facing mental health programs for post-conflict and refugee communities’ Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 19(1) pp 90-96
40. Silove D, Eckblad Sand Mollica R (2000) ‘The rights of the severely mentally ill in post-conflict societies’ Lancet 355 1548-49
41. Slim H (2001) Not Philanthropy but Rights: Rights-Based Humanitarianism and the Proper Politicisation of Humanitarian Philosophy in War Centre for Development and Emergency Practice, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford [Online] Available:
42. Sphere Project (2004) Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response Oxfam Publishing, Oxford [Online] Available:
43. Steel Z, Silove D, Chey T, Bauman A, Phan T and Phan T (2004) ‘Mental disorders, disability and health service use amongst Vietnamese refugees and the host Australian population’ Acta Psychiatr Scand 111(4) pp 1-10
44. Summerfield D (1999) ‘A critique of seven assumptions behind psychological trauma programmes in war-affected areas’ Social Science and Medicine 48 pp 1449-62
45. UNHCR (2003) Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced People: Guidelines for Prevention and Response UNHCR, Geneva
46. Van Ommeren M, Saxena S and Saraceno B (2005a) ‘Mental and social health during and after acute emergencies: emerging consensus?’ Bulletin of the World Health Organization 83(1) pp 71-76
47. Van Ommeren M, Saxena and Saraceno B (2005b) ‘Aid after disasters’ British Medical Journal 330 pp 1160-61
48. Weiss T G and Collins C (1996) Humanitarian Challenges and Intervention: World Politics and the Dilemmas of Help Westview Press, Oxford
49. WHO (2005a) WHO Resource Book on Mental Health and Human Rights and Legislation WHO, Geneva
50. WHO (2005b) WHO Recommendations for Mental Health in Aceh [Online] Available: [2005, June 7]
51. Yamin A (2004) ‘Promising but elusive engagements: combining human rights and public health to promote women’s well-being’ Health and Human Rights 8(1) pp 63-92
52. Zwi A B and Grove N J with UNSW Health and Conflict Group (2005) Reassessing Peace through Health - Placing Trust at the Centre, Presentation to Second McMaster-Lancet Challenge Conference, ‘Peace through Health: Learning from Action’ 6-8 May 2005