Humanitarian agenda 2015 - the state of the humanitarian enterprise

Is ‘humanitarianism’ at risk? The humanitarian community is operating in a ‘changing’ environment which is forcing it to question its own notions of inclusivity and grapple with the fundamental issue of impartiality.

This paper addresses the core issues and concerns of current humanitarian enterprise and incorporates – through a number of case studies in Asia, Middle East and Africa – the views of the ‘recipient communities’. The research is organised around four areas:

• the universality of humanitarianism
• the impact of terrorism and counter-terrorism on humanitarian action
• the thrust toward coherence between humanitarian and political agendas
• the security of humanitarian personnel and the communities benefiting from humanitarian action.

The authors find that there is a crisis of humanitarianism in the post-9/11 world:

• international action aimed at assisting and protecting the most vulnerable is inextricably linked to a northern security and political agenda
  
• humanitarian action is torn between principle and pragmatism as perhaps never before, particularly in high-profile crises
  
• the humanitarian enterprise has become much more institutionalised – much that is local and non-western in humanitarian action goes unrecognised
  
• politicisation, militarisation, and privatisation nowadays represent more of a challenge for those parts of a diverse enterprise striving for a modicum of fidelity to principle.

So what can be done to protect the humanitarian enterprise? The authors offer a number of recommendations:

• there remains a need to build safety nets for the most vulnerable in conflicts and disasters - nets that cut across cultures, are principle-based and independent from politics
  
• more can and should be done to promote and protect the universality of humanitarian action and enlarge its global reach and character
  
• as political and structural changes are proceeding faster than most humanitarians realize, there must be a more forthright engagement with change – in order to create a humanitarian enterprise that is inclusive, participatory, transparent and accountable.