Humanitarian and development aid in the times of economic crisis; times of
great need and reduced resources.
Fernando Almansa, Warsaw 7th December 2012 (PAH Conference)
1. Humanitarian and development aid (looking backwards, looking forward)
2. in the times of economic crisis
3. times of great need
4. and reduced resources
5. Challenges and ways forward.
1..- Humanitarian and development aid
The origins of Humanitarianism: It is important to start by remembering that the origins
of modern Humanitarianism are rooted in war.
No need to remind how the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was born
in 1863, inspired on the ideas of Henry Dunant after his experience and thoughts
during the Battle of Solferino and how linked the Geneva Conventions (1864) are to the
war. The central pillar of modern Humanitarianism is the International Humanitarian
Law built around the war and its consequences.
Therefore when we talk about humanitarianism in times of economic crisis, we need to
look backwards and think that humanitarianism has always been linked to social,
political and economical crisis. The point is that we are now confronting a new context
a new type of crisis and a new model of humanitarianism; which has changed a lot and
will continue changing drastically in the following years.
The origins of Development Cooperation: Development cooperation as such is much
younger than Humanitarian Aid, the birth of the UN and the development of all its
agencies in the decades of the 50s and 60s and the later agreement on the so well
known UN commitment for the 0,7% of GNP to support development programmes
made in 1970 by the UN general Assembly, are at the foundations of what today is a
natural feature of our States and societies: “Development cooperation and
Humanitarian Aid”
The decades of the 80s and 90‟s were “enthusiastic” periods for the International
cooperation sector. A blooming of NGOs and agencies, was taking place in many
countries around the world, with a certain leadership of Europe.
Development theories, research, and professional practice were developed intensively
across the world, during that period of time.
The ending of the independence map of Africa with the latest processes taking place in
Namibia and the emerging powers of Asia and all the rich knowledge of social and
economic development in countries like India and Bangladesh were completing an
extraordinary debate and richness of knowledge and good practice to the development
sector.
The end of several violet conflicts in Latin America and the democratization of several
countries after years of dictatorship. The end of the dominance of the Soviet Union and
the creation of a new Europe more open to the world, were also important inputs for the
transformation of the development cooperation that started around half a century ago in
the terms we know them.
2
The creation of the Human Development Index, the setting of the Development
millennium Goals, etc.etc. etc. all happened in a relatively short period of time.
It is important to take all this into account if we want to have a clear perspective of
where we are now.
How the Soviet Union model of cooperation with countries like Mozambique, Ethiopia,
or Cuba is still present in the life of those countries?, how the radical and brutal neo
liberalism model that has transform some countries is reshaping cooperation etc.? are
fundamental questions to reflect upon, before being to categorical of what should be
done now, in this so called economic crisis?.
Is it an economic crisis at all, or is it something else when we look at the Cooperation
(Humanitarian and development) sector.
Before looking forward, I do not want to forget the importance of social movements
across the world, from the 80s to our current times, claiming for a more fair world, in
terms of more just and fairer world („80s). More peaceful and secure (90‟s); and more
sustainable and respectful with our environment, (last decade).
The great Lakes crisis of middle nineties, The Balkans‟ war, the Iraq invasion, the
Arabic spring revolutions, have created worldwide movements that are interconnecting
how development, humanitarianism, war, democratization and environmental issues
are interconnected; or more that, all these issues are different faces of a single reality.
So before entering into the current “economic crisis” let us have a look to the
evolution itself, particularly of the Humanitarian sector, so that we can understand
better in which context this crisis is taking place and therefore what could be the best
way to confront them.
Looking forward: some trends in Humanitarianism:
Let us have a view to the humanitarian landscape and key trends that might change
completely the understanding we currently have on humanitarianism:
1. Trend: more humanitarian crises due to natural disasters and technological
disasters. Climate change is a key factor on the increase of natural disasters
2. Trend: More responses in urban context and gradually a reduction in the
number of crises responded in rural environments.
3. Trend: more inter-linkages between Humanitarian Responses and
Development. Disaster Risk Reduction is a key approach that is putting more
emphasis in the full cycle of the humanitarian crises and not only in the
response phase.
4. Trend: Number of armed conflicts in the world are reducing despite the impact
of current conflicts might be of unprecedented consequences and not
foreseeable in its evolution
5. Trend: More local, national and regional responses over international
responses. Civil Protection and other national bodies are taking a greater role in
Humanitarian responses and preparedness. As well as some national NGOs.
6. Trend: Humanitarian Responders are frequently victims too of the Disasters or
armed conflicts
3
7. Increasing professionalism of Humanitarianism and increasing complexity of its
management. (sometimes confusing professionalism with empty rhetoric)
8. Humanitarianism is moving from a “male dominated approach” to a female
dominated approach. More women than men are trained and are entering in the
humanitarian sector, replacing the old image of a “masculine humanitarianism”.
9. The entrance of new cultural approaches in humanitarianism, is questioning the
traditional western, Christian value based humanitarianism.
10. Finally an increasing lack of respect for IHL and International Law in general.
(Latest news of reaction of Israel, after the UN resolution of Palestine is a
recent indicator of this)
So, we could conclude that we are confronting a new humanitarianism, more
culturally diverse, more nationally centered, more related to natural disasters,
more “female” and more vulnerable in its actors.
Humanitarianism is becoming a complex professional sector, but in essence
Humanitarianism is about helping and assisting people in need for the only reason of
humankind. In this regard any human being is entitled and morally obliged to be
humanitarian, but being a professional humanitarian is something else and there are
limits to the genuine spontaneous humanitarianism that every human being should be
able to develop.
Professional Humanitarianism is a serious job, a respectful profession that should be
accompanied by all the formal elements of any profession: adequate education and
training, codes of conducts, contractual duties (moral and legal) and professional
standards. In this regard it is essential to clearly define who are the legitimate
humanitarian actors and what are the controls that should be in place to avoid
unprofessional humanitarianism, which will damage the services that victims are
entitled to received as universal rights.
Humanitarianism cannot be seen as part of the liberalized world: a free market
were everyone can compete and enter without any rule of engagement. Everyone
is invited and should contribute but not everyone could be leading or in the
implementing front-line, unless they are fully knowledgeable of humanitarian delicacy
and complexities.
In this regard, new sources of funding, as it is the involvement of private sector could
not be done outside the professional framework in which humanitarianism needs to
operate.
There are global responsibilities, as we are talking about Universal rights: the right to
receive and provide assistance.
Therefore the right should be protected in its concept, and in its practice and in
the achievements of its practice.
A global responsibility should be assumed and therefore the question of what to do
should be accompanied by the question of why we do it and how we do it.
4
Humanitarian actors should abide with international Humanitarian Law and the more
universal Code of Conduct of Humanitarian action.
--0--
Humanitarian and development aid in the times of economic crisis; times of great
need and reduced resources.
2..-Times of economic crisis
As I have already exposed the evolution of Humanitarianism and development in the
last decades has been shaped through different processes. Economic growth in many
parts of the world was also a supportive instrument for the evolution and
implementation of this cooperation as such. The current crisis is modifying this
instrument, but let us talk a bit about the type of crisis we are confronting.
I am not sure we should call this crisis an economic one. “Stricto sensu”. Economics is
about the management of resources of a community, in several aspects.
In this case we are talking about the global community, and particularly Europe.
I think this is a social-cultural value centered crisis. This is important as depending
of our understanding of the crisis, different approaches will be used, and we may
succeed or not depending on the certainty of our diagnosis and approach.
Essentially what we are experiencing is a financial crisis, due to the abusive
implementation of inadequate and immoral policies, backed legally and in many cases
supported by the so call world leaders, including our own European governments.
The abuse of a neo-liberal economic model, based on over passed theories of
capitalism and free markets, the lack of protection of basic Human rights and
principles, the acceptance of speculative economy as a key pillar of economic
development. The confusion between economic-financial growth with development.
The ignorance of the constraints of natural resources and the “no return” point that we
have already crossed in term of climate change, has brought us to the so called
economic crisis.
It is unbelievable, that the very simple paradigms postulated by Adam Smith in a
preindustrial era, are still evoked by some politicians and false thinkers as valid
postulate in a post industrial, globalised, mega-urbanized world.
We have to talk about fundamental value crisis. And allow me to say it clearly and laud,
a crisis that could be called “the crisis of human collective stupidity”.
I think it is important to make this point, as otherwise my speech today would have
been simply about how to raise funds or how to use them more efficiently. That‟s
important and we might talk about this, but for me the key point and my key concern, is
to understand the nature of this crisis, and see how Humanitarianism and Development
cooperation could be part of the solution to the crisis; and at the same time secure that
Humanitarian and development cooperation will not be radically affected by this crisis
of “human collective stupidity”.
So if we want to confront this crisis, for sure the solution is not about cutting funds
which essentially are oriented to be part of the solution:
to create a fairer world,
to promote solidarity over “self interest”
to invest in social development and not on speculative financial growth.
5
Humanitarian and development cooperation are part of the solution, investing in a more
fair and secure world, protecting environment, reducing vulnerability to reduce impact
of disasters on populations, all this is part of a new world.
When Humanitarian Aid and Development cooperation are seen as another
expenditure budget line, that should be reduced to control national deficit, simply there
is not understanding of what the problem is about, there is not vision of why this
solidarity and cooperation movement exists, there is no connection with the origins of
humanitarianism, as said before: humankind trying to overcome the horror of the war,
poverty and suffering.
What we are confronting today, is simply a terrible lack of moral leadership, a lack of
true human sensitivity.
We are in front of limited leaders representing lobbies of interest and protecting microrealities,
rather than open, visionary, illuminating leaders having sustainable proposals
for our world.
In all this context the new proposals of “Die Gemeinwohl Ökonomie” (“The Economy of
Common Good) developed by Christian Felber, and other emerging economic
proposals are worth to be taken into account seriously.
--0--
Humanitarian and development aid in the times of economic crisis; times of great
need and reduced resources.
3..- Times of great needs.
I would like to comment briefly on this point. Mainly to confirm that this is one of the
greatest evidences of our current and near future world: “worldwide human needs will
continue growing in the following years”
With a population of seven thousand million across the planet and a continued
projection of growth.
With more stress on natural resources
With more natural disasters taking place as a consequence of climate change
With more scarcity on water, more concentration of cultivable land in big agro-industry
companies, growing deforestation of the planet (see case of Mozambique), etc.. People
in need will increase significantly over the following decades.
Just to take a couple of figures, number of natural disasters and number of people
affected by them, have increased exponentially in the last decades, (see graphs) this
trend will continue
6
Natural Disasters’ Trends 1900-2011
Number of Natural Disasters
reported
Source EM-DAT
If our global system does not react to this, transforming the current socio-economic
model, and increasing resources and professionalism in Humanitarian and
development cooperation, the situation will lead to an apocalyptic result.
--0--
Humanitarian and development aid in the times of economic crisis; times of great need
and reduced resources
4..- Reduced resources
This is a paradoxical issue. More than ever in history, humanitarian and development
cooperation count on the highest level of resources, particularly on:
Knowledge and management tools
Qualified staff
Access to information and communication
Logistics
Funding
Networking and Coordination capacities
Legal tools
So when we talk about reduced resources, we in fact are talking about access
to financial resources, in a period of budgets‟ cuts. Of course this is not a minor
aspect as it conditions all other assets, but it is important to look at it as one
factor and not all.
In any case I think it is important to recognize that the main impact of budgets‟
cuts is at field level. In the last three months I have seen personally how
Development and Humanitarian projects were closed before reaching their
impact in El Salvador, Cuba or Mozambique, the only reason: Finance crisis at
home country of donors.
This is important to say it clearly and not to lose direction.
Frequently I heard how the crisis is affecting UN agencies, official state Aid
agencies or NGOs, “De facto” where the crisis is impacting in its most brutal
7
way is on the field, on the communities that were engaging in projects or
receiving humanitarian aid and this is suddenly cut off.
The argument given by some “Eurocrats” or some of our politicians: “reducing
deficit is the highest priority!” is really unacceptable from a moral point of view,
when this is affecting directly the poorest and most vulnerable communities in
the world.
Nevertheless some measures should be considering in order to reduce the
perverse effects of these cuts:
1- Maintaining priorities based on most urgent needs
2- More selective use of funding tools, prioritizing those tools which have
highest transparency, creates less dependency, and are more targeted to
the most urgent needs and strategic development projects.
3- Readdressing budgets lines of cooperation that cannot prove its impact or
which has been traditionally diverted to other purposes with minimal
accountability, (e.g.: business support, supposed cultural activities which
are sometimes maintaining status quo with no impact etc), and putting the
available resources on effective cooperation lines.
4- Reducing unnecessary staff and budget lines that some agencies still
maintain as a matter of routine. More focus on budget allocation should be
done
5- International agencies and specially UN agencies to adjust their staff
benefits to the reality and more aligned with INGOs. The same applies to
ECHO and some national agencies where privileges of staff are not cut off
in the same way as other areas of European or national budgets.
6- Increase coordination among donors to avoid duplication or gaps of funding
7- Increase flexibility on use of funds, under strict accountability, to avoid rigid
budgets that cannot reach the most vulnerable populations.
8- Transfer any supposed cooperation budget of military intervention to
reputed development and humanitarian agencies.
9- Eliminate double counting of military service provided on logistical support
to humanitarian interventions
In summary, better focus, more accountability, more efficiency.
6. Challenges and ways forward.
As said we are confronting times of increasing needs, with limited financial resources,
and in an ethical-financial crisis; our challenge is to regenerate the urgency and
sense of Humanity and use the available resources in a more efficient way and
directly oriented to the central mandate of Humanitarianism and development
cooperation: protecting life, dignity and rights of most vulnerable human beings
across the planet.
We need to make sure that Government and donors do understand that maintaining a
good level of investment in Development cooperation, Disaster Risk Reduction and
Humanitarian cooperation is not only necessary in moral terms but it is also part of the
solution to the current problems.
A more human world where solidarity values are above self-centered interest will be
the only way to get out of this crisis.
