Preface

Emma Bonino

Over the past five years, humanitarian aid has undergone a radical change in its character parallel with an explosion in demand that has spanned all continents. Once, emergency aid used to mean coming to the rescue of victims of natural disasters. Today, the needs of victims of man-made disasters are the most pressing, particularly those of civilians caught in the crossfire of war and forced to flee their homes.

The international community, seemingly overwhelmed at such developments, has responded to the proliferation of localised wars and movements of people by stepping up humanitarian aid, the future of which is very uncertain. On the one hand, resources available are not unlimited, and on the other, our duty to assist those in need increasingly comes up against obstacles that we could not have foreseen.

The duty to offer assistance has, as a result of major crises such as those in Somalia, ox-Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Liberia and Sudan, turned into a right to do so. This right to intervene with humanitarian assistance is often referred to, but it is far from being established and regulated at the international level. And this gives rise to uncertainties, even powerlessness, on the part of all those who want to exercise this right and/or duty -states, agencies and organisations such as the European Union.

The European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) commissioned this study with the aim of describing and clarifying the current situation as regards humanitarian law, but also with a view to facilitating and preparing the ground for its future development.

The contributors to the two volumes in this study are all experts in the field of humanitarian law. Volume One sets out the context in which this body of law has developed, and provides an overview of its scope. It analyses the application of humanitarian law to date, examining the role of international organisations and of non-governmental organisations, as well as the rights and duties of those involved on all sides. Volume Two deals with the topic of the right of access to victims, a question that comes up in its hardest practical sense in the course of humanitarian aid operations.

As European Commissioner with responsibility for humanitarian aid, I hope this publication will contribute to a debate that far from being purely academic, deals with matters of life or death for millions of people. Above all, I hope these papers will help all actors involved in humanitarian aid to play a more incisive role in raising the level of awareness generally, and that they will contribute to the development of good practice as regards international humanitarian law.