Humanitarian Negotiations with Armed Groups

5 Negotiating on Specific Issues

5.2 Negotiation and the Two Dimensions of Humanitarian Action

In recent years, the IASC and the United Nations have focused increased attention on the duality of humanitarian assistance and protection, and the need to better integrate these two complementary areas of humanitarian action. ⁴⁰ The IASC has used the following working definition of protection in its recent policy documents: ⁴¹

“[encompassing] all activities aimed at obtaining full respect for the rights of the individual in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the relevant bodies of law (i.e. international human rights law, international humanitarian law, refugee law).”

While there is recognition of the need to integrate these two dimensions, there is also recognition of the different characteristics of each element:

Provision of humanitarian assistance is viewed as act of substitution on behalf of the host country government or other authorities, the objective of which is to provide goods and services to meet the core physical, psychological and socio-economic needs of the target group;
Humanitarian activities focusing on protection aim to ensure that the rights of the individual, as specified in international law, are fully respected by those in a position to exert influence or control over the individual (armed group, host government, etc.).

It is useful to keep these two dimensions of humanitarian actions in mind when approaching humanitarian negotiations, as each of the two components will have implications for the negotiations:

Protection focuses on ensuring respect for the rights of the individual in accordance with international law; therefore, negotiations on issues of protection will revolve around securing agreement with the armed group to ensure its behaviour is consistent with the group's obligations under international law. In these situations, the humanitarian negotiators have little scope to maneuver or compromise; the boundaries for negotiation are formed by international law (outlined in Section 3.3);
In preparation for negotiations on issues of protection, therefore, humanitarian negotiators should identify the elements of international law that relate most directly to the particular context. For example, negotiations on protection of children from forced induction into armed groups should take into consideration elements of international law relevant to that specific issue. Humanitarian negotiators should be prepared to use these elements to frame the negotiations (see Section 3.3);
In negotiations focusing on issues of provision of humanitarian assistance, operational issues feature more prominently in the negotiations. Because the humanitarian organization will be the party delivering the assistance, the objective of the negotiations will often be to secure agreement from the armed group to permit, or at least not obstruct, the provision of that assistance;
Depending on whether the primary focus of the negotiations is protection or assistance, the role of the humanitarian and armed group parties in implementing any agreed outcome will change. For negotiations on issues of protection there is often a positive obligation on the armed group to take action. For assistance-related negotiations the primary provider of assistance will be the humanitarian organization; the role of the armed group will be to facilitate that assistance.

Case Study: Protection Activities and Humanitarian Negotiations

In Bosnia during the early- to mid-1990s, in spite of the restrictions on freedom of movement and limited access to vulnerable communities, UNHCR did manage to provide numerous reports on ethnic cleansing, harassment of minorities, evictions, expulsions and human rights abuses in general. These reports provided vital information, particularly since journalists were barred from large parts of Bosnian Serb territory for most of the war. These reports, as well as public denunciations made by UNHCR officials against those committing atrocities, naturally strained relations with the warring parties concerned, complicating negotiations over access and potentially jeopardizing ongoing assistance programmes. It was difficult for staff to cooperate with local authorities while at the same time condemning them over human rights abuses. (Source: Based on interviews with UNHCR staff.)

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⁴⁰For example, in relation to Internally Displaced Persons, the IASC acknowledged the importance of “ an agreed, comprehensive strategy for linking protection of, and assistance to internally displaced persons ,” and the IASC identified strategic areas to integrate protection features into operations response. See: Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), Protection of Internally Displaced Persons, IASC Policy Paper (New York: Inter-Agency Standing Committee, 1999). United Nations policy documents have also increasingly highlighted assistance and protection as two dimensions of humanitarian action. See, for example: United Nations General Assembly, Economic and Social Council, Strengthening the Coordination of Emergency Humanitarian Assistance of the United Nations , UN Document Ref. A/58/89 (New York: United Nations, 3 June 2003): para. 4.

⁴¹See, for example: Inter-Agency Standing Committee, Implementing the Collaborative Response to Situations of Internal Displacement. Guidance for UN Humanitarian and/or Resident Coordinators and Country Teams (Geneva/New York: IASC, September 2004): Annex 3.