INTRODUCTION While the number of humanitarian health workers has grown considerably along with the emphasis on evidence-based humanitarian practice over the last 15 years, no organization exists to ensure ongoing professionalization of this area of expertise. HYPOTHESIS/PROBLEM To determine whether and to what degree the community of humanitarian health workers self-identify as a professional...

This article looks at the tension between principles and politics in the response to the Afghan crisis, and more specifically at the extent to which humanitarian agencies have been able to protect themselves and their activities from overt instrumentalization by those pursuing partisan political agendas. After a short historical introduction, it focuses on the tensions around the issue of ‘cohe...

Armed conflicts lead to the deterioration of living conditions civilians and deprive them basic necessities life, which may result in catastrophic human tragedies, due inability parties conflict provide goods services or obstruct that. Humanitarian relief work provided by states humanitarian organizations comes as a decisive necessary tool preserve The health, dignity these people, this is subj...

Although epidemiology is increasingly contributing to policy debates on issues of conflict and human rights, its potential is still underutilized. As a result, this article calls for greater collaboration between public health researchers, conflict analysts and human rights monitors, with special emphasis on retrospective, population-based surveys. The article surveys relevant recent public hea...

BACKGROUND Trauma survivors often have to negotiate legal systems such as refugee status determination or the criminal justice system. METHODS & RESULTS We outline and discuss the contribution which research on trauma and related psychological processes can make to two particular areas of law where complex and difficult legal decisions must be made: in claims for refugee and humanitarian prot...

Today’s international law regime leaves little room for lawful use of nuclear weapons.1 At the same time, there is no prohibition of these weapons per se.2 This situation distinguishes them from biological and chemical weapons, which are subject to comprehensive bans under the 1972 Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons Convention and the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, respectively. The ‘legal ga...

Throughout history ways have been sought to limit the effects of war and protect civilians by regulating how wars are fought. Yet one need only look at the conflicts in Syria, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Libya and Yemen to see the challenges these efforts continue to face. Conflicts such as these – and the loss of life, dignity and livelihoods that they cause – compel us to ask w...

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to investigate the nature of the humanitarian aid supply chain and discuss the extent to which certain business supply chain concepts, particularly supply chain agility, are relevant to humanitarian aid. Design/methodology/approach – The paper identifies elements of good practice in conventional business supply chains and applies them to the humanitarian...

The article explores the intersection between child rights, water scarcity, sanitation, and the human security paradigm. The recognition of child rights has been advanced through the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international legal instruments, while water rights are increasingly affirmed in international law and through the historic July 2010 United Nations General Asse...