humanitarian action

The International Humanitarian Studies Association (IHSA) recently published a special issue of International Migration journal, based on contributions to their conference in The Hague (2018). On the 9th of September IHSA and KUNO organized a webinar in which key findings of a special issue of the International Migration Journal on 'Politics, humanitarianism and migration to Europe' were presented.

When some one million people crossed the Mediterranean in the course of 2015 to seek refuge, European countries called it a crisis. Yet the real crisis was created by European immigration and asylum policies and by the challenges they posed for aid providers. The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the violence experienced by people seeking safety in countries such as Italy, Greece, France, Belgium, Germany, Norway, and the UK.

Policies such as strengthening border controls, the externalisation of borders, and a focus on smuggling and trafficking rather than on the causes of forced migration all result in humanitarian crisis. The new reality affects humanitarian organizations, including the criminalisation of assistance provision, as well as the rise in resistance and activism by newly created volunteer groups.

Speakers: prof. Thea Hilhorst, dr. Susanne Jaspars, Marte Welander, Francesca Pusterla, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, and Adil Izemrane.

This week, #SeriousPrivacy is in summer mode, with a special episode from the borders of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Paul Breitbarth had the opportunity to speak to Massimo Marelli, Head of the Data Protection Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent (ICRC). Massimo is one of the authors of the Handbook on data protection in humanitarian action, and leading the various efforts of the ICRC to meet data protection standards both at headquarters and in the field.

K Royal provides a short introduction explaining a little about the definition of "International organization" in Article 4 of the GDPR - "‘international organisation’ means an organisation and its subordinate bodies governed by public international law, or any other body which is set up by, or on the basis of, an agreement between two or more countries."  As promised here is a list of international organizations.  -

In this episode, you will hear about why data protection would matter in a humanitarian crisis situation, how the ICRC is dealing with personal data across the board and what efforts are made to raise awareness for data protection in other humanitarian organisations. Part of the awareness raising effort is the Data Protection Officer (DPO) Humanitarian Action Certification that was recently launched by Maastricht University and is supported by TrustArc. 

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at seriousprivacy@trustarc.com. In addition, if you like our podcast, please do rate and comment on our program in your favorite podcast app. We also have a LinkedIn page for Serious Privacy, so please follow for more in-depth discussion.

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The world is changing fast. Humanitarian needs grow, due to political developments and climate change; the nature of crises is becoming more complex and protracted; and new players are demanding a role within the humanitarian playing field. What are the implications of this for Western INGOs? What are challenges and what could be the added value of Western INGOs in about ten years?

To inspire Dutch humanitarian CEOs at the start of a day of strategic decision making, KUNO asked Heba Aly to stir up their minds at the opening session of the Dutch Relief Alliance (DRA).

Hebe Aly is director of The New Humanitarian (formerly IRIN News), the independent non-profit news organisation focussing on humanitarian issues.

The first and foremost goal of humanitarian aid is to save lives. But what if humanitarian action unintentionally lengthens the duration or becomes part of a conflict?

During this edition of Humanitarian Hot Topics humanitarian experts discuss unintended consequences of humanitarian aid in South Sudan. This episode follows on the introduction by Jok Madut Jok and further debate with Bram Jansen and Akke Boere (part 1). 

Speakers:

Jok Madut Jok: executive director of the Sudd Institute, a public policy research centre based in South Sudan, and professor of anthropology at the University of Juba in South Sudan.

Akke Boere: Operational Manager Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Amsterdam.

Bram Jansen: assistant professor at Wageningen University and Research. Main topics: refugees and forced migration, protracted refugee situations, and humanitarian aid.

Peter Heintze, coordinator of KUNO, is the moderator of the discussions.

This podcast is based on the recordings of a public debate organized by KUNO and Humanity House. 

The first and foremost goal of humanitarian aid is to save lives. But what if humanitarian action unintentionally lengthens the duration or becomes part of a conflict?

During this edition of Humanitarian Hot Topics, Jok Madut Jok of the South Sudanese think tank Sudd Institute, will give an introduction addressing the unintended consequences of humanitarian aid in South Sudan. His keynote speech is followed by a discussion between him and speakers from the humanitarian sector.

Speakers:

Jok Madut Jok: executive director of the Sudd Institute, a public policy research centre based in South Sudan, and professor of anthropology at the University of Juba in South Sudan.

Akke Boere: Operational Manager Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Amsterdam.

Bram Jansen: assistant professor at Wageningen University and Research. Main topics: refugees and forced migration, protracted refugee situations, and humanitarian aid.

Peter Heintze, coordinator of KUNO, is the moderator of the discussions.

This podcast is based on the recordings of a public debate organized by KUNO and Humanity House.

The humanitarian sector promised to put local organizations at the heart of humanitarian action. The Grand Bargain presented commitments for local leadership under the frame Localization; these commitments should provide local organisations the means and opportunities to take over control. So far, actual transformation seems to be limited.

However, after the tsunami in Sulawesi in 2018, the Indonesian government took control of the access of international aid organisations to the affected areas. A remarkable example of local leadership. 

This podcast is based on the recordings of a public debate with humanitarian experts reflecting upon the Sulawesi response and the relationship and interaction between local and international aid organisations.

Speakers:

Jemilah Mahmood, Under Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). She was founder of MERCY Malaysia and worked as the chief of the World Humanitarian Summit secretariat at the United Nations in New York.

Christine Pirenne, Head of the Department for Humanitarian Affairs at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Saskia Harmsen, works for the Global Team of Oxfam International on Localization.

Moderator is Roanne van Voorst, researcher at the International Institute of Social Studies (Erasmus University Rotterdam).

The humanitarian sector promised to put local organizations at the heart of humanitarian action. The Grand Bargain presented commitments for local leadership under the frame Localization; these commitments should provide local organisations the means and opportunities to take over control. So far, actual transformation seems to be limited.

However, after the tsunami in Sulawesi in 2018, the Indonesian government took control of the access of international aid organisations to the affected areas. A remarkable example of local leadership. 

This podcast is based on the recordings of a public debate with the humanitarian expert Jemilah Mahmood (IFRC), reflecting upon the Sulawesi response and the relationship and interaction between local and international aid organisations.

Jemilah Mahmood is Under Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). She is founder of MERCY Malaysia and worked as the chief of the World Humanitarian Summit secretariat at the United Nations in New York.

The interviewer is Roanne van Voorst, researcher at the International Institute of Social Studies (Erasmus University Rotterdam).

Presentation of the Scoping Study to an International Ombuds for Humanitarian and Development Aid, November 21, 2018 (The Hague).

This Ombuds could be a way of preventing (sexual) abuse by humanitarian professionals during humanitarian interventions or a way to assist victims of abuse in humanitarian settings.

The study was performed by prof. Dorothea Hilhorst, Asmita Naik and Andrew Cunningham,
The study was commissioned the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Speakers: Thea Hilhorst (ISS), Asmita Naik, Reintje van Haeringen (CARE Nederland), Marinus Verweij (ICCO-Kerk in Actie), Bart Romijn (Partos), Doris Voorbraak (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
Presentation: Peter Heintze (KUNO).