Changing relations between military and humanitarian actors

Recent years have seen an expansion in military engagement in key areas of humanitarian concern – particularly in aid delivery and civilian protection activities. The capacities and security management approaches of humanitarian agencies are being challenged in new ways, and the impact on humanitarian outcomes is unclear. The interaction between military and humanitarian aid providers raises difficult questions for policymakers.

A report from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), UK, reviews trends in military engagement in humanitarian crises. The authors address four key areas: political and policy trends behind the increased involvement of military actors in areas of humanitarian concern; the form and nature of combined military and humanitarian assets in responding to crises; the growing role of military actors in civilian protection strategies; and the growing use of private military firms.

The research shows that while humanitarians and military actors have long shared the same operational environments, increasing support for military involvement in assistance and protection strategies is challenging traditional mechanisms for managing interaction between the two communities. The boundaries between the humanitarian and military communities are being blurred by attempts to combine military, political and aid objectives and the growing interest in promoting civil-military cooperation (CIMIC). The traditional neutrality and independence of humanitarian actors is being threatened.

These changes pose important questions for both humanitarian and military communities, including how to:

• maintain the integrity of humanitarian principles in combined political, military and humanitarian efforts
• design and provide resources for a military role in protecting civilians from violence
• manage the impact of, and hold to account, the private security industry in crisis response
• manage the security of aid operations generally.

ODI calls for:

• humanitarian actors to invest in understanding the diversity of national military approaches and capacities in crisis response
• greater investment at senior levels between humanitarian agencies and defence institutions to agree on core areas of competence and context-specific rules to govern interaction between the two communities in the field
• militaries to be provided with resources, and be trained and prepared to use force when mandated to do so to protect civilians
• greater research into the cost and impact of using military and civilian expertise in crisis response, transparency in financial procedures, and commitment to using military assets only in areas that humanitarian actors cannot manage (e.g. security or large-scale infrastructure)
• investment in communicating core humanitarian principles in the design of civil–military policies and operations – particularly within the African Union, the European Union, and NATO
• the development of standards for private military firms in crisis response.

Governments should continually underline the core objective of humanitarian action – to save lives and maintain human dignity – regardless of a population’s strategic value.

Source(s):
‘Resetting the Rules of Engagement: Trends and Issues in Military-Humanitarian Relations’, HPG Report 21, Humanitarian Policy Group, ODI: London, by Victoria Wheeler and Adele Harmer, 2006 (PDF) Full document.
 

Funded by: Humanitarian Policy Group’s Integrated Programme

id21 Research Highlight: 27 March 2007

Further Information:
Victoria Wheeler
Humanitarian Policy Group
Overseas Development Institute
111 Westminster Bridge Road
London SE1 7JD, UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 7922 0300
Fax: +44 (0)20 7922 0399
Contact the contributor: v.wheeler@odi.org.uk;

Overseas Development Institute (ODI), UK

Adele Harmer
Humanitarian Policy Group
Overseas Development Institute
111 Westminster Bridge Road
London SE1 7JD, UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 7922 0300
Fax: +44 (0)20 7922 0399
Contact the contributor: a.harmer@odi.org.uk

Other related links:
'Politics v humanitarianism on the front line – can the UN get its act together?'

Special Issue of Human Security Research: In Focus: Dilemmas in Humanitarian Aid

Coherence in Crisis? Re-examining the relationship between humanitarian and political responces to conflict-related crises, Special Report on the Proceeding of the Seminar held by the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute (PDF)

HPG Research Briefing: Resetting the rules of engagement: trends and issues in military-humanitarian relations, Briefing Paper from the Overseas Development Institute (PDF)

Partners Apart: Managing Civil-Military Cooperation in Humanitarian Interventions, Research Paper from the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (PDF)