Humanitarian Aid in the 20th and 21st Centuries

The Role of Technology, money, and the Human Spirit

The Beginnings of Humanitarian Aid

• The precise definition of humanitarian aid may vary from time to time and place to place, and there are certainly controversies over the extent to which political and military operations should be involved in humanitarian aid, but humanitarian aid invariably involves the concept of providing material and logistical assistance in response to a crisis situation, whether it be natural or man-made, for the purpose of alleviating human suffering and saving lives.

The Red Cross• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) founded in 1863 by Jean-

Henri Dunant (Henry Dunant).• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial,

neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance.

• The ICRC also endeavours to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles.

• Established in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the Geneva Conventions and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It directs and coordinates the international activities conducted by the Movement in armed conflicts and other situations of violence.

• The Red Cross was born in 1863 when five Geneva men, including Dunant, set up the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, later to become the International Committee of the Red Cross. Its emblem was a red cross on a white background: the inverse of the Swiss flag. The following year, 12 governments adopted the first Geneva Convention; a milestone in the history of humanity, offering care for the wounded, and defining medical services as "neutral" on the battlefield.

International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies

• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 in Paris in the aftermath of World War I. The war had shown a need for close cooperation between Red Cross Societies, which, through their humanitarian activities on behalf of prisoners of war and combatants, had attracted millions of volunteers and built a large body of expertise. A devastated Europe could not afford to lose such a resource.

It was Henry Davison, president of the American Red Cross War Committee, who proposed forming a federation of these National Societies. An international medical conference initiated by Davison resulted in the birth of the League of Red Cross Societies, which was renamed in October 1983 to the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and then in November 1991 to become the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The first objective of the IFRC was to improve the health of people in countries that had suffered greatly during the four years of war. Its goals were "to strengthen and unite, for health activities, already-existing Red Cross Societies and to promote the creation of new Societies"

There were five founding member Societies: Britain, France, Italy, Japan and the United States. This number has grown over the years and there are now 186 recognized National Societies - one in almost every country in the world.

Humanitarian Aid Expressed in Politics

The Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were direct antecedents to the Geneva Conventions and the United Nations, both international governmental expressions of humanitarian concerns.

Geneva Conventions• Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their

persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and practices, and their manners and customs. They shall, at all times, be humanely treated, and shall be protected, especially against all acts of violence or threats thereof and against insults and public curiosity. Women shall be especially protected against any attack on their honour, in particular against rape, enforced prostitution, or any form of indecent assault. Without prejudice to the provisions relating to their state of health, age and sex, all protected persons shall be treated with the same consideration by the Party to the conflict in whose power they are, without any adverse distinction based, in particular, on race, religion or political opinion. However, the Parties to the conflict may take such measures of control and security in regard to protected persons as may be necessary as a result of the war. ”

• —— Article 27, Fourth Geneva Convention (1949)

United NationsThe Purposes of the United Nations are:• To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective

collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;

• To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;

• To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and

• To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.

• Central Emergency Response Fund - Humanitarian funding mechanism approved by the UN on 15 Dec. 2005 to ensure that funds are immediately available in response to disasters and emergencies.

Positive Impact of Humanitarian Aid on the World

• Providing material necessities such as food, water, shelter, and medical care to those in dire need.

• Relocating refugees• Negotiating humanitarian cease-fires, access agreements, and days of

tranquility with combatants.

Criticisms of Governmental and NGO Methods of Humanitarian Aid

• Negative affects like those caused by Operation Lifeline Sudan. – prolonging the conflict– providing opportunities for warring parties to regroup– causing more fighting for resources– inadvertently creating black market economies and systems of

extortion – absolving ruling parties from their responsibilities to their people– Inadvertently conferring legitimacy on armed militias

• Some methods of humanitarian aid have also been criticized for lacking and political or military effort. However, political and military cooperation can often be at odds with the very nature of humanitarian aid and put civilians and volunteers at greater risk. For instance the Red Cross has the specific words “neutral intermediary” in its mission statement. Cooperation with military organizations would violate the mission statement.

• The counter argument is best encapsulated in the expression “well-fed dead” which expresses the contradiction of supplying material aid to people in a vacuum. Without the protection of a military or political arm many people may have their immediate physical needs met, but are still at risk for violence from militias.

Design for the Other 90%• Creating low cost, sustainable design projects• Listening to user input• Socially conscious design• Using “appropriate technologies”

– Simple– Cheap– Easy to distribute– Meet a direct need

Two Different Approaches to Providing Humanitarian Aid to Crisis Areas

• Top down approach promoted by Jeffrey D Sachs which focuses on large increases in governmental financial aid and involvement.

• Millenium Development Gaols (MDG) – 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger– 2. Achieve universal primary education– 3. Promote gender equality and empower women– 4. Reduce child mortality rates– 5. Improve maternal health– 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases– 7. Ensure environmental sustainability– 8. Develop a global partnership for development

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• Bottom up approach proposed by William Easterly which focuses on local involvement and individual feedback.

Mad Housers, Inc.• Huts

– 6 by 8 feet square– 10 to 12 feet high– Roughly 50 man hours to assemble by an experienced crew

• Lowriders– Panel construction a little bit longer than the hut due to the added extra insulation that

is necessitated by the lowrider’s lack of space for a stove.

Huts

Lowriders

Diebedo Francis Kere• Gando, Burkino Faso

– Primary school

• Diébédo Francis Kéré was born in Gando, Burkina Faso. He graduated from the architecture program at Technische Universität Berlin in 2004, and opened his architecture office in Berlin the following year. Kéré had already founded the non-governmental organization Schulbausteine fuer Gando e.V. (school bricks for Gando) in 1998, with the objective of improving traditional building techniques in his home country. He currently teaches at Technische Universität Berlin and works with his office internationally on several projects. His entrance and restaurant buildings in the Parc National du Mali will be finished in fall 2010.

Stoves for Darfur• Even though there is a shortage of fuel wood in the desert, families still

must rely on this resource to cook their food. Many women and children leave the relative safety of their relief camps and spend up to seven hours a day gathering fuel wood, from farther and farther away. They travel to remote areas, imposing great risk upon themselves. Fuel-efficient stoves allow families to use 70% less fuel wood to cook the same amount of food. This reduces the number of wood collection trips, and also lessens the environmental degradation and deforestation.

ONIL Stove

Design Revolution Road Show• 36 products and design projects were made available for visitors to

experience, use, and touch. Each product is a smart design solution to one of the following eight issues: Water, Well-Being, Energy, Education, Play, Food, Mobility, Enterprise.

Aquapak:Transportable solar pasteurization pouch

Adaptive Eyecare:Liquid filled, custom-fit, affordable eyeglasses

Grow:Solar panels inspired by foliage

Hymini:A handheld windpowered charger

Hippo Roller:A water transport barrel for the developing world

• http://www.ifrc.org/• http://www.icrc.org/eng/index.jsp• https://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/• https://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/• http://www.usaid.gov/fani/ch05/innovations.htm• https://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/• http://www.madhousers.org/• http://www.publicarchitecture.org/• http://www.katrinafurnitureproject.org/home.html• http://www.stovesfordarfur.com/• http://designrevolutionroadshow.com/exhibition/