Humanitarian aid - Definition and Overview

There is a disputed proposal that this article should be merged with foreign aid

Humanitarian aid is assistance given to people in distress by individuals, organisations, or governments to relieve suffering. The term often carries an international connotation, but this is not always the case. Many full time, professional humanitarian aid organisations exist, both within government (USAID, DFID, ECHO), and as private voluntary organizations (or non-governmental organisations, e.g. Oxfam, Mercy Corps). The International Committee of the Red Cross is unique in being mandated by international treaty to uphold the Geneva Conventions.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is mandated to coordinate the international humanitarian response to a natural disaster or complex emergency (normally linked to conflict), acting on the basis of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/182.

It is often distinguished from development aid by being focussed on relieving suffering caused by natural disaster or conflict, rather than removing the root causes of poverty or vulnerability.

The Humanitarian Charter of the Sphere coalition of leading private voluntary organisations lists the following principles of humanitarian action:

1. . The right to life with dignity.
2. . The distinction between combatant and non-combatants.
3. . The principle of non-refoulement.

Related articles

• Timeline of events in humanitarian relief and development
• Attacks on humanitarian workers

External links

• UN ReliefWeb (http://www.reliefweb.int)
• The Sphere Project (http://www.sphereproject.org/)
• OCHA Online (http://www.ochaonline.un.org)
• World Food Programme (http://www.wfp.org)
• UNICEF (http://www.unicef.org)
• UNHCR (http://www.unhcr.ch)
• The Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine (CDHAM) (http://www.cdham.org)