HUMANITARIAN ACTION IN CONFLICT SITUATIONS STATEMENT BY THE HIGH COMMISSIONER (Singapore, 9 January 1998)

1998 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-64
2014 ◽  
Vol 96 (895-896) ◽  
pp. 881-900
Author(s):  
Annyssa Bellal

AbstractHow does the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) discharge its mandate of “promoting and protecting the effective enjoyment by all of all civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights”, especially in armed conflicts and other situations of violence? What are its concrete responsibilities, and how does it work to generate respect for the rule of law on the ground? This article aims to provide an overview of OHCHR's activities, and point to some of the challenges associated with its work to generate respect for the rule of law, in particular in violent contexts. It begins with an overview of the unique mandate of OHCHR and situates it within the broader United Nations human rights machinery. It then gives an account of OHCHR's experience and approach in building respect for the rule of law, including in armed conflicts and post-conflict situations, outlining how this informs OHCHR's field setup. Finally, the article summarizes the main challenges that OHCHR faces in the discharge of its mandate. It highlights the need for more concerted action on the part of human rights/humanitarian protection organizations on the ground, despite differences in mandates and constituencies.


2017 ◽  
pp. 41-84
Author(s):  
Daniela Santos Nascimento

With the end of the Cold War, one of the most important developments has clearly been the recognition of the universal value of human rights and of the need to effectively respect and promote them at all levels of international relations. Among the priority areas, humanitarian action in conflict situations was then to be considered particularly important, with a clear objective of contributing for peace. However, observing the scenario of humanitarian assistance especially in the second half of the 90s, these aspirations seem to have been contradicted by some concerning and challenging realities, such as the trends suggesting a proliferation of man-made disasters in many parts of the world and consequently an also continuing need for humanitarian assistance in the future and the fact that the main obstacles in providing it tend to arise from an increasing and general disregard for the applicable international humanitarian and human rights law. Showing concern for these facts, this thesis analyses the negative consequences of the attempts to bring human rights concerns to the centre of humanitarian assistance through the practice of conditionality and defends the need for the inclusion of a more transversal human rights dimension in humanitarian assistance and in particular, of specific human rights oriented projects. Recognising the intrinsic link between both dimensions and their increasing importance, and touching the difficulties implied by such approach, it is suggested that this would be a more appropriate way to effectively promote human rights within humanitarian work, simultaneously contributing for enhanced and less controversial humanitarian assistance.Published online: 11 December 2017


Author(s):  
Arafat Jamal

This chapter examines the changing role of the United Nations in the Middle East by focusing on the Iraqi refugee situation and the actions of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with respect to resettlement of the refugees. It first considers the pre-2007 context before discussing how the recognition of the existence of a massive refugee population, combined with the choice of UNHCR to recognize all Iraqis as prima facie refugees, enabled the agency— with support from donor countries, including the United States—to seize the initiative and stake out a new mode of operation involving both resettlement and new urban approaches. The chapter then considers how resettlement in the Middle East helped improve the general asylum climate for Iraqi refugees and was used by the UNHCR to begin carving out a larger space for international humanitarianism in the region. It also evaluates the initial response to the Syrian refugees (beginning in 2011), reflecting on the limitations of humanitarian action in the face of mass displacement and in the absence of political solutions.


1988 ◽  
Vol 28 (265) ◽  
pp. 351-366
Author(s):  
Vitit Muntarbhorn

This article examines the mandate to protect and assist refugees in armed conflicts and internal disturbances. It is a modest attempt to clarify the web of overlapping roles and mandates of humanitarian bodies, in particular the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (“the Movement”) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It purports to re-assess the evolution of their mandate and its extension. On the one hand, there is a need to define concrete principles, based on past and present practice, for humanitarian action. On the other, there must be sufficient leeway for flexibility and pragmatism in situations for which there is no comprehensive prognosis. The article concludes by demonstrating the interdependence and complementarity of humanitarian organizations which have to proffer protection and assistance where no other body can act.


2001 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carola Weil

For humanitarian organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the recent evolution of military engagement in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies has been a mixed blessing. This article examines the protection-neutrality dilemma confronting UNCHR in the face of increased military humanitarian action. The conceptual framework presented here suggests that military forces may in fact act as an important “norms entrepreneur,” influencing how protection norms affect international responses to humanitarian emergencies. The linking of forced migration and security has generated a host of challenges for civil-military relations and raises a number of concerns for UNHCR regarding the legitimacy, ethics and operational viability of military interventions in such crises.


2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Dow ◽  
Tim Brown ◽  
Dawn Marshall
Keyword(s):  

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Chambers ◽  
Robert S. Baron ◽  
Mary L. Inman

1970 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 202-214
Author(s):  
Олена Савченко

У статті розглядається рефлексивна компетентність як інтегративне особистісне утворення, що формується в ході набуття суб’єктом рефлексивного досвіду при застосуванні різних форм рефлексивної активності, спрямованих на розв’язання визначених рефлексивних задач. У структурі рефлексивної компетентності оцінно-мотиваційний компонент виконує наступні функції: оцінку форм рефлексивної активності та її результатів, прогнозування можливих змін у процесі розв’язування проблемно-конфліктних ситуацій, визначення пріоритетних завдань подальшого розвитку себе як суб’єкта рефлексивної активності. На когнітивному рівні функціонує система критеріїв оцінювання власних форм рефлексивної активності, яка характеризується ступенем когнітивної складності, що відображає рівень диференціації та інтеграції системи. Функціонування оцінно-мотиваційного компонента на метакогнітивному рівні забезпечує система здібностей до прогнозування власної активності. Особистісний рівень представлений системою життєвих задач на саморозвиток, які стимулюють суб’єкта докладати зусилля щодо розвитку в себе певних якостей, формування певних вмінь та знань. Розрізненість елементів компонента є індикатором незавершеності процесу формування його внутрішньої структури, низький рівень інтеграції окремих складових не дозволяє системі ефективно компенсувати недорозвинені елементи. Найбільшу вагу у внутрішній структурі оцінно-мотиваційного компонента має показник сформованості системи здібностей до прогнозування власної активності, що підтверджує системотвірну функцію структур метакогнітивного рівня. In the article the reflective competence is seen as an integrative personal formation which develops in the process of acquiring of the reflective experience, when the subject is using various forms of the reflective activity for the solving of specific reflective tasks. In the structure of the reflective competence the value-motivational component performs such functions: an evaluation of forms of the reflective activity and its results, a prediction of the possible changes in the process of solving of the problem-conflict situations, a determining of the priorities for further development of himself as a subject of the reflective activity. The system of the criteria of an evaluating of the reflective activity`s forms functions on the cognitive level of the reflective competence. The level of the cognitive complexity is the basic feature of this system. The predictive abilities` system, that allows to form the expectations of the activity`s results, presents the value-motivational component on the metacognitive level. The system of the life tasks for the self-development, which stimulates the subject to make efforts to develop his own qualities, to form specific skills and knowledge, functions on the personal level. The fragmentation of the elements is an indicator of the incompleteness of the formation of the internal structure of the value-motivational component. The low level of integration of the separate elements does not allow effectively to compensate the functioning of the unformed elements of the system. The index of the formation of the abilities to predict his own activity has the greatest meaning in the internal structure of the value-motivational component. These data confirm the hypothesis about the system-forming function of the metacognitive structures that unite other structures. Thus the development of the predictive abilities will promote the increase of the abilities to the prediction of the others` behavior. An adequate assessment of other people significantly reduces the inconsistency of his own expectations and estimations of others. The development of the predictive abilities creates favorable conditions for the formation of the life tasks for the self-development to increase their value in the system of other tasks


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