“Criminalization” of Humanitarian Action Under Counterterrorism Frameworks: Key Elements and Concerns

Criminalization confusion and concerns: the decade since the Cuerrier decision.

In 1998, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a person living with HIV could be found guilty of aggravated assault if he or she did not disclose his or her HIV-positive status and exposed another person to a "significant risk" of HIV transmission. The notorious case--R. v. Cuerrier--involved an HIV-positive man and two women with whom he had intimate relationships involving unprotected interc...

Humanitarian Action Summit: exploring the edges of humanitarian health.

1. Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Division of International Health and Humanitarian Programs, Boston, Massachusetts USA 2. Senior Scholar,Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, DC USA 3. Senior Fellow, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts USA 4. Professor, Department of Community Emergency Health & Paramedic Practice, Monash Univ...

History and Principles of Humanitarian Action

Humanitarian aid has been present in some form throughout human history, yet the modern concept of humanitarian aid has only truly emerged since the later half of the 20th century. Through a complex progression of world events and largely brought about in response to armed conflict, modern humanitarian aid is provided by a multitude of organizations and actors. The purpose of this chapter is to...

Innovations in international humanitarian action

[Humanitarian action threatened by standardization].

The author analyses the new international context in which humanitarian action is being undertaken. He raises the problem caused by the diverging objectives of impartial, neutral humanitarianism and politically motivated actions that implement strategies of prevention and conflict resolution. He reviews the criticism that humanitarian has come under in recent years and that has resulted in esta...