Yearly Archives: 2006
The Protection of Internally Displaced Persons in the Sudan: Applying International Law at the Field Level
ABSTRACT
While refugee numbers continue to decrease around the world, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) continues to steadily rise. The fact that they remain within national territory means that they cannot seek to qualify as bona fide “refugees” entitled to the special protective regime accorded to refugees under international law. This paper explores the protection of IDPs as an emerging area of international law and seeks to understand the practical application of law as exemplified by international responses to the specificities of the north-south internal displacement phenomenon in the Sudan following the signing of the 9 January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The paper thus explores the application of international legal norms as public policy, in practice, and at the field level, while focusing on the abuse of the social, cultural, economic, political and civil rights of Sudanese IDPs.
Violence and humanitarian assistance: Reflections on an intricate relationship
ABSTRACT
This paper focuses on one dimension of new kinds of wars, namely the shifting relationship between violence and humanitarian action. The author suggests that since humanitarianism is founded in an idea of being intrinsically and essentially benevolent, humanitarian organizations’ real and imagined relationship with violence is critical for their self-understanding and wider legitimization in society, and hence worthy of in-depth consideration. To shed light on this issue the author discusses three dissimilar and conflicting perspectives, which together illustrate some of the ambiguity and complexity that exists and which also reflect the historical and analytical developments that have occurred as a result of concrete experiences with humanitarian operations in conflict zones in different parts of the world.
Angola: Empire of the Humanitarians
ABSTRACT
This essay purports to focus on Angola as a case study that transcends the diseased nature of bureaucratic humanitarianism- undesirable and ritualised behaviour in which rules obscure social goals and perpetuation instincts dehumanise Africans such that genocide could get rephrased as “civil war”. Humanitarianism, for the purpose of this exegesis, is underlined as a complement to great power strategies rather than as a de-contextualised impulse to help humans whose existential needs are in threat. The author re-conceptualises humanitarians as not only activists but policymakers; not only outsiders ‘looking in’, but also rulers who wield power and abuse it in environments where accountability breaks down. The essay argues that UN agencies and INGOs were central, not peripheral, to the quest for unrestrained access Angola’s strategic minerals and that they added to the troubles of the Angolan people. According to the author, “If Angolans, Africans and all other peoples from the developing world are to rebuild their other-determined lives, they have to upend the de-legitimising empire of humanitarianism.”
A Comprehensive Conceptual Model for Disaster Management
ABSTRACT
In this paper, the authors argue that a well-defined and clear model for disaster management is highly beneficial because it facilitates the security of support of disaster management efforts. The paper discusses existing approaches to disaster management and proposes a comprehensive model with improvements over the existing models arguing that such a comprehensive model, which supports different stages and phases of a disaster management cycle, can fill in the gaps that occur in the current models. The paper discusses the challenges that emerge as a result of the complex nature of disaster management and proposes a possible solution for meeting these challenges within such a complex environment.
Corruption as an internal problem for emergency operations
ABSTRACT
Even though there is a growing public awareness about widespread corruption in politics and the economy and its detrimental effects on development, especially in poor countries, it is still largely a taboo to talk about it as an internal problem for aid organisations. Individual cases might be reported, occasionally also in the media, but in general, the aid community is extremely reluctant to acknowledge the fact that corruption is happening in numerous projects. The issue is widely perceived as concerning only auditors and accountants; however, aid practitioners easily agree that it is a widespread phenomenon which is part and parcel of aid operations in a large number of countries, affecting a large number of organisations active in all the different sectors of aid. This paper focuses mainly on corruption and its relevance in emergency aid operations where a number of factors – such as high time pressure, transfer of large quantities of relief goods, and often very volatile security environment and a high level of media interest – make fighting corruption especially difficult.
Reconstructing Stability: A New U.S. Office
ABSTRACT
Fragile states have always been a source of instability and insecurity; the threat has not
suddenly cropped up in this new millennium. Any state which is unable to provide basic services such as functional security for its citizens, a stable judicial system, and access to health, education, and transportation will be a volatile environment and prone to be taken advantage of by illegal and illicit actors (i.e. terrorists, blackmarketeers, etc.). This loss of functionality leads to a loss of legitimacy, often spiraling into violent conflict. In this essay, the author discusses new efforts by United States to respond to the challenges of promoting global stability and to address the crises generated by fragile states.
Using Integrated Pest Management-Farmer Field Schools as Developmental Relief: A Field Report from Liberia
In the milieu of chronic conflict and political instability, such as the Liberian case, there is a continuous flux of peaks and valleys in conflict intensity. Both relief and development are needed, and they are not mutually exclusive. A linear model is not possible. In lieu of the relief-development continuum, a more recent concept embraced by humanitarian and development practitioners, is that of developmental relief. Developmental relief is rooted in the concept of supporting livelihoods rather than simply providing basic relief. Through the use of a case study, this article is intended to challenge the way we think about humanitarian assistance during protracted political instability. This field report focuses on how one organization, the Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Initiative (SARDI) of the United Methodist Church, has used the Integrated Pest Management-Farmer Field School format to provide developmental relief to four villages in Nimba County, Liberia.