Conditioning the Right to Humanitarian Aid? Human Rights and the ‘New Humanitarianism’

Abstract

Over the past decade, a new ‘human rights-based’ approach to aid provision has achieved prominence. This approach, often termed a ‘new humanitarianism’, is geared to strengthening those forces in society that can bring peace and stability to crisis situations in the developing world. It offers humanitarian relief agencies a new ‘moral banner’ under which to work, helping agencies to cope with the new international situation and the new and complex emergencies that have emerged since the Cold War. Most importantly, the ‘new humanitarianism’ clearly presents itself as a break from the past. It sees traditional humanitarian aid provision, which was avowedly apolitical and politically neutral, as a naive illusion. New humanitarian aid provision is overtly political, embracing a politically conscious aid strategy which, it is argued, can positively impact on the politics of a conflict or post-conflict situation.