Do no harm has been circulating around the ngo and international communities for 20 years. A brief introduction from cda do no harm is a leading tool for the application of conflict sensitivity. Without methods to gauge success and failure, and without appropriate ethical frameworks, humanitarian tech may do more harm than good. Operating under an established do no harm principle that encourages no further damage or suffering as a result of their actions, humanitarian organizations find themselves in an. This book exists only because tens of thousands of people have taken up and contributed to the concepts, ideas, techniques, and tools of do no harm. A principled approach to conflict sensitive do no harm. In a spirit of prevention and wanting to support critical selfre. A brief history of the do no harm project principle to practice.
Do no harm information on conflictsensitive programming. May 27, 2015 if humanitarian and disaster response organizations continue to embrace the core humanitarian standards, and the principle do no harm to those they serve, it must be equally important to these organizations to avoid deleterious internal treatment and harmful practice to those who volunteer their time, intellect, and heart. Although not a fundamental principle, the principle or concept of do no harm is important for both humanitarian actors and foreign militaries. Nov 07, 20 but the insistence that aid should do no harm, which has become something of a mantra in the humanitarian community, too often obscures the fact that conflicts are also fueled by the lack of. Andersons 1999 book of the same name where the author cites an example of a situation where aid may have caused harm taking place in. Its no wonder that new technologies that promise to do more with less are so appealing. Equally important is unhcrs commitment to rightsbased and communitybased approaches that include efforts to engage and empower persons of concern in decisions that affect their lives. Developed by humanitarians, do no harm principles state that aid is not neutral. Campaigns that take place in a situation of armed conflict e. The do no harm principle is a key ethical guidance post across fields of development, humanitarianism and global health. You will find below information on the different measures that dg echo is taking to cope with these exceptional circumstances. In rohingya camps, covid19 challenges humanitarian effort to. The do no harm methodology is widely used among international and increasingly local humanitarian and development organisations. Do no harm dnh is now used widely by many aid organisations, including governments and multilateral organisations.
The do no harm framework can be combined with other tools. When the resources they deliver or the reforms they advocate weaken rather than strengthen the states decision and policymaking functions, their efforts can do more harm than good. World vision is a founding member of the project that developed this tool. Prominent issues include contextual insensitivity to issues such as security, humanitarian coordination, and the inappropriate use of. The do no harm principle is ascribed to the hippocratic oath, and has been adapted by development and humanitarian actors. It states that any unintentional consequences of humanitarian assistance should be critically examined and any potential negative consequences negated. This acceptance is critical to ensuring humanitarian personnel have safe and sustained access to affected people. They perform this balancing act amidst chaos, with incredibly high stakes and far fewer resources than they need. In order to necessarily give greater priority to discussions about ethics and the do no harm principle, humanitarian innovation should give more prominence to considering these experimental tendencies. Kristin bergtora sandvik, katja lindskov jacobsen, sean martin mcdonald 9 min read note on migration and the principle of nonrefoulement, icrc, 2018 author. In germany, for example, a large group of ngos has committed themselves to mainstreaming do no harm within their operations. As the reflections at eu and global level on possible.
Conflict sensitivity recognizes that aid, whether development, peacebuilding, or humanitarian assistance, has the potential to. The do no harm project explored the relationship between humanitarian and development aid because so many people in the field and at headquarters and among the donors saw negative impacts day after day. The do no harm principle and its application in north. Do no harm is a tool first developed by mary anderson and published by the organisation cda. The do no harm principle and its application in north korea. The principle is typically interpreted to mean that your actions should not cause injury or injustice to people.
Providing assistance can never be a neutral act and in understanding that, contributors to ngos must understand how their money will be used. The do no harm project explored the relationship between humanitarian and development aid because so many people in the field and at headquarters and among the. In other words, humanitarian actors must walk the talk. Dg echo response plan to the impact of covid19 on the. It includes humanitarian assistance and protection principle iv.
First, do no harm harvard health blog harvard health. The do no harm dnh concepts are widely used in the humanitarian and development communities and it is one of the best known tools for peace and conflict impact analysis. They perform this balancing act amidst chaos, with incredibly high stakes and far. The safe and effective development in conflict sedc approach, developed by dfid and giz risk management office combines do no harm, risk management van brabants operational security management tool and good development practice with the aim of helping aid workers to conduct programmes safely and effectively in conflict. Humanitarian organizations have an almost impossible task. They must balance the imperative to save lives with the commitment to do no harm. This paper will argue that there are contradictions in the way do no harm is understood, partially stemming from a misunderstanding of the do no harm project and more deeply from a poor reading of the concept of do.
This module uses case studies to illustrate the principle of do no harm, that is, in a refugee situation, humanitarian actors should be keenly aware that their refugee protection activities could have positive and negative effects. A brief description of seven steps the do no harm analytical framework was developed from the programming experience of many assistance workers. The examples above illustrate the need for investment in ethics and evidence on the impact of development and application of new technologies in low resource and fragile settings. Drones can help expand access by delivering medical aid. Andersons 1999 book of the same name where the author cites an example of a situation. There are multiple pressures on humanitarian actors to compromise humanitarian principles, such as providing humanitarian aid as part of efforts to achieve political ends. Gibbs in first do no harm, david gibbs raises basic questions about the humanitarian interventions that have played a key role in u. Do no harm norwegian centre for humanitarian studies. Humanitarian principles center for excellence in disaster. The principle of do no harm requires humanitarians to place the wellbeing of the people they are trying to. Dec 21, 2015 this is a recorded version of a conflict sensitivity webinar focussing on the do no harm tool in humanitarian assistance casted live on october 12, 2015. Several case studies are supplied, and it is intended that only one or two of these will be used. Unhcr also adheres to other internationally recognized principles that complement principled humanitarianism.
Rhetoric must be matched by leadership and practice. In the example, an aid agency responds to a factional split by building. Do no harm international support for statebuilding despite the best of intentions, donors can inadvertently undermine statebuilding processes. A taxonomy of the challenges of humanitarian experimentation volume 99 issue 904 kristin bergtora sandvik, katja lindskov jacobsen, sean martin mcdonald. Basically, this means that disaster response actions must not have negative impacts on affected population. The principle of do no harm, for instance, obliges unhcr to prevent and mitigate any negative impact of its actions on affected populations. Assistance is often misused by people in conflicts to pursue a political or military agenda. A brief description of seven steps the do no harm framework for analyzing the impact of assistance on conflict 3 the do no harm framework. Conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding in unicef technical. This concern led to the do no harm principle and the concept of conflict sensitivity. Jan 15, 2016 do no harm is a principle of bioethics that is also commonly used in areas such as sustainability. The principle, in its strictest sense, can also be applied to inactions. September 2018 do no harm as part of a qualification course for the german civil peace service once again, conflictsensitive programming has been part of the annual course for future peace professionals.
September 2018do no harm as part of a qualification course for the german civil peace service once again, conflictsensitive programming has been part of the annual course for future peace professionals. World vision uses the do no harm approach also known as local capacities for peace or lcp to integrate conflictsensitivity wherever it is relevant. Dec 21, 2017 humanitarian organizations have an almost impossible task. The changes in practice and policy from the early days are immense. The do no harm handbook the framework for analyzing the. Do no harm is a very honest accounts of how aid has helped and hindered the peace process. Biometrically registering refugees helps improve accountability, by generating more reliable data.
A taxonomy of the challenges of humanitarian experimentation author. Do no harm is a concept in humanitarian action that encourages aid deliverers to examine how their aid might reinforce and support conflict. Humanitarian intervention and the destruction of yugoslavia david n. Andersons 1999 book of the same name where the author cites an example of a situation where aid may have caused harm taking place in sudan.
601 690 1378 432 1008 1282 966 314 1103 907 1073 915 91 939 978 1008 404 527 134 174 145 741 24 870 1165 464 911 60 1212 691 1228 1159 56 280 1149 1256 334 790