Humanitarianism and humanitarian aid
- Page updated on18 de April de 2025
What does humanitarianism mean? And what does humanitarian aid entail? What are its objectives and purpose? Grounded in the same ethical foundation and rooted in the principle of humanity, the humanitarian imperative, and respect for the rights of people affected by disasters and humanitarian emergencies, various interpretations of humanitarian aid have emerged.
Classical humanitarian aid, throughout its history and evolution, has transformed and adapted to complex humanitarian crises and shifting geopolitical contexts. Today, however, while some of its characteristics remain relevant more than a century after its origins, there is a growing call for humanitarian aid to break away from its colonial past and adapt to new realities.
Table of contents:
Humanitarianism is a radical commitment to life and rights
The ideology of humanitarianism provides the ethical basis for humanitarian aid
Humanitarianism is an ideology based on the principle of humanity: all human lives are worth the same. It is therefore essential to act to assist people who are suffering and to protect their dignity and rights. This approach, however, clashes with the way in which the world order tolerates and accepts the continuous atrocities that cause the elimination of part of the population, as a collateral effect of civilization and its advances.
The proposal of humanitarianism is an unconditional ideological commitment to help those who are left behind by the system. It sides with the victims of conflict, injustice, inequality, and indifference. It is on this theoretical basis that the principles of humanitarian aid are built. The ethical foundation of humanitarianism justifies intervening with humanitarian aid in the midst of violence, chaos, and hunger, where society and politics fail to protect human lives.
Humanitarian aid is a way of applying and operationalizing the principles of humanitarianism. This way of expressing humanitarianism is based on actions and interventions that pursue the humanitarian imperative.
What is the humanitarian imperative?
The humanitarian imperative establishes the obligation to act to prevent and alleviate human suffering caused by disasters or armed conflicts. Based on humanitarianism, it is a fundamental ethical principle in international humanitarian law.
The humanitarian imperative is reflected in the Humanitarian Charter, drafted in 1997 by professionals from multiple humanitarian organizations who gathered the consensus of all of them. This document does not simply view humanitarian assistance as an act of charity, but expresses the conviction that all people affected by disaster or conflict have the right to receive humanitarian assistance and protection. In response to this right, the international community has a duty to act.
Humanitarianism and human rights in humanitarian emergencies
Humanitarianism is not only concerned with the immediate relief of specific needs but also upholds the rights of people affected by disasters or humanitarian emergencies. These rights are enshrined in various provisions of international humanitarian law, human rights law, and refugee law. They can be summarized in three key principles: the right to live in dignity, the right to receive humanitarian assistance, and the right to protection and security.
The right to live with dignity
This right includes the right to life itself, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to an adequate standard of living. Dignity also requires respect for individuals and communities, as well as for their values, beliefs and human rights.
To uphold this right, humanitarian aid must strive to listen to and seek to understand what people affected by a complex humanitarian crisis have to say, and be open to their participation. In addition, and in line with the Core Humanitarian Standard, humanitarian aid must put people as active subjects at the center, being transparent in its communication with them, fair in its treatment, responsible to its humanitarian imperative and principles, and respectful of the value that every human being has by virtue of being a person.
The right to receive humanitarian assistance
Sometimes, humanitarian assistance is essential to ensure the right to live in dignity. In such cases, humanitarian aid is the only viable means of ensuring that people affected by a humanitarian crisis have access to sufficient and quality food and water, adequate shelter, and the resources needed to maintain their health. Therefore, when a state is unable to guarantee the right to live with dignity for its population, it must allow other humanitarian actors access, in accordance with the principle of impartiality and without any form of discrimination.
This right is often threatened in conflicts and complex crises by the effect of geopolitical interests. For example, States may prioritize for humanitarian assistance one or other contexts according to their own agenda and strategic priorities, and not the needs of the affected people. In addition, the parties involved in a conflict may also limit humanitarian access for organizations that are uncomfortable for them, instrumentalize humanitarian aid, and even use humanitarian language to justify military interventions for which this right is, at best, secondary and accessory.
The right to protection and security
Protection from violence and threats to life may be particularly important for refugees and internally displaced persons. When this need exceeds the capacity of a country, it must also seek international humanitarian assistance.
In relation to this, humanitarian actors have agreed to play a number of roles articulated in four protection principles. These principles are intimately related to the rights of the people that humanitarian aid helps to uphold, the humanitarian principles, and the Core Humanitarian Standard for quality and accountability.
Humanitarianism encompasses many approaches to humanitarian aid
The ethical basis of humanitarianism is the starting point for the application of many ways of understanding humanitarian aid. Starting from the analysis of its successes and failures, from the experience of its contradictions, and from the continuous adaptation to humanitarian contexts and the challenges it encounters along the way, humanitarian aid is continuously transforming.
There is no single form of humanitarian aid. There are many, as many as the multiple directions in which humanitarian aid has evolved throughout its history, as well as according to the organizational culture and the vision of the different humanitarian actors, who are alive, experience changes and adapt to them in different ways.
"Classical" humanitarian aid and its legacy in "modern" humanitarian aid
The model of humanitarian action that emerged after the Battle of Solferino in 1859 was based on an exceptional approach to addressing the needs of people affected by emergencies, under the umbrella of the fundamental humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence. Under this understanding of humanitarian aid, amid continuous normality, there was an occasional rupture caused by a specific emergency, requiring mobilization and response.
Many characteristics from this initial approach have been inherited and remain a cornerstone of humanitarian aid in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. These include the humanitarian principles, the dominance of the Global North and its organizations in today's humanitarian system, and even the cyclical funding model driven by donors.
"Modern" humanitarian aid emerged as a response to new complex humanitarian crises
Over time, new features have emerged that have further distinguished classical and modern conceptions of humanitarian action. These include the professionalization of humanitarian work, its instrumentalization by various actors (from governments to donors and armed groups), and the perpetuation of humanitarian organizations. Aware that their interventions can alleviate suffering but not resolve humanitarian crises with complex political causes, these organizations seek to consolidate, sustain their operations, and expand their response capacity.
Throughout this evolution, many actors have also broadened their vision of what the objective of humanitarian aid should be, thus blurring the thin red line that originally established a clear dichotomy between rapid interventions for immediate short-term relief in emergencies and long-term development cooperation. The medium term has taken over a significant portion of humanitarian aid in protracted crises, contributing to recovery once the acute phase of the emergency is over and enhancing the resilience of communities, societies, and systems. From this perspective, a humanitarian crisis is no longer seen as an exceptional situation but as a new normal that can last for years, never be fully reversed, and even deteriorate again due to new humanitarian emergencies.
What will humanitarian aid look like in the future?
Over the years, and in parallel to the learning, growth and improvements in humanitarian aid, the modern model of humanitarian action has also exposed its limitations and contradictions.
On the one hand, the gap between local realities and the large international organizations that control much of the humanitarian system has widened. There is more distance, more intermediaries, more bureaucracy, and more inefficiency. On the other hand, despite widespread narratives about empowering communities and local actors, high-income countries continue to dictate what humanitarian aid does and how it operates. Many voices criticize that humanitarian aid has not broken away from the colonial legacy of these economic and political powers. They also argue that efforts to maintain (ostensibly) apolitical humanitarian action have only enabled its full politicization by global powers, reinforcing complicity with an unjust world order that fuels increasingly complex humanitarian crises.
At the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, there is a global call for shifting the power of humanitarian aid and decolonizing the humanitarian system. Moreover, it is hoped that this transition will take place while adopting a feminist approach and advancing climate justice. At the same time, however, humanitarian funding from major donor agencies is experiencing a sharp decline. In response, and despite the uncertainty, many experts emphasize the need not for yet another superficial reform, but for a meaningful dialogue that allows us to rediscover the new purpose and priorities of humanitarianism and humanitarian aid and to redefine the evolving role of its different actors.
Core concepts
External links
- The New Humanitarian, 2025. Reforming humanitarianism can’t be left to today’s decision-makers.
- Humanitarian alternatives, 2024. The imperial past and decolonised future of humanitarian action.
- Magen-Fabregat, 2024. The decolonisation of humanitarian aid and localisation: a critical synthesis.
- Aloudat, 2022. Decolonising humanitarianism or humanitarian aid?
- Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG), 2019. Dignity and humanitarian action in displacement.
- Sphere Handbook, 2018. The Humanitarian Charter.
- Hilhorst, 2018. Classical humanitarianism and resilience humanitarianism: making sense of two brands of humanitarian action.
- Fassin, 2007. Humanitarianism as a Politics of Life.
- Weissman, 2003. À l’ombre des guerres justes: L’ordre international cannibale et l’action humanitaire.
- Fox, 2002. New Humanitarianism: Does It Provide a Moral Banner for the 21st Century?
- Slim, 2000. Dissolving the difference between humanitarianism and development: the mixing of a rights-based solution.
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