Pomoc humanitarna dla obszarów objętych kryzysami zbrojnymi
Humanitarian aid for areas under military crisis

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the issue of politicisation of humanitarian aid to victims of armed conflicts. The author analyses the humanitarian policies of ten largest humanitarian state donors and the European Union and assesses the degree of their politicisation. The author also discusses the process of consolidation of the activities undertaken by humanitarian organisations and presents the cluster approach. Along with the global escalation and proliferation of armed conflicts and the ensuing growing threats to national and international security governments have begun to look for new methods of exerting influence on unstable regions and use those methods to establish peace and security. One of them is the distribution of humanitarian aid. A six-fold augmentation of the amount of subsidies (1999-2012) increased the possibilities of taking action in the areas of conflict, but also transformed the humanitarian sphere into an aid business. It supported the creation of new organisations, which – for appropriate remuneration – implemented humanitarian programs in line with the political guidelines of governments, but not necessarily in response to the needs of the victims. Assessing the politicisation of humanitarian aid transferred by particular states and the EU, the group of the largest donors can be divided into three subgroups. To the first belong states, which subordinate humanitarian ideas to political guidelines: USA (the largest global donor), Saudi Arabia and Canada. The second group consists of the European Commission, Japan, the Netherlands and Germany, which have implemented humanitarian principles into their policies, but have not reduced their right to decide about the allocation and method of delivery of their assistance. In the third group – which remains in apparent opposition to the first group – there are Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Humanitarian programs of those states are conducted strictly as a response to the real and most important humanitarian needs of the victims of crisis.

• Details
• Contents