Paper Example on Humanitarian Organizations

Introduction

The world is prone to the occurrence of various phenomena or activities that pose disastrous risks to human life (Bornstein, 661). When they happen, an external force needs to come in and rescue the victims most suitably and humanely. These foreign organizations have to act in the most gentle, appropriate and in a way that promotes humanity. But how will the institutions determine the best ways to approach such disasters. There should be a regulatory body to serve as an oversight. This discussion can be contacted with different views, and it brings us to the research question on how the organizations shall be regulated.

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Some people have good morals and attributes such as compassion, altruism, and selflessness. Such people are ready to serve their fellow human beings for the promotion of human welfare whenever the need arises (Hilhorst, Classical humanitarianism, and resilience humanitarianism). Such individuals voluntarily form organizations that are entirely dedicated to serving people in areas of crisis. On the other hand, a government may have an interest in finding a way to respond to emergencies whenever are in trouble quickly. All these agreements validate the need for the establishment of humanitarian organizations regardless of the founders of such organizations.

Like in most organizations, a functional organizational structure is necessary for achieving success in business and overcoming competition. Such compositions are supported by an excellent corporate culture that interacts favorably with individual's employees or volunteer's culture. Unethical employees or stakeholders may mislead the binding organizational objective and so applies to humanitarian organizations. Contrary, some organizations may establish as philanthropic institutions but with a hidden agenda of making money from of donors, government sponsors, and other stakeholders. Therefore, a discussion arises on how the establishment of such organizations should be regulated and whether the government other bodies should oversee their activities.

Research Question

How can humanitarian organizations be regulated and by which body, to ensure that they maintain acceptable humane standards when carrying out humanitarian services?

Stakeholder Positions

Self regulation

Government regulation

Regulation by the United Nations

Stakeholder One

Humanitarian action should be undertaken only when a need arises depending on the urgency of the matter. The partiality that is based on tribe, race, religious belief, political opinion, class, and nationality should always be avoided. Humanitarian service providers should act without interference from politics, military, economic and other external factors in determining where humanitarian action should be provided (Bornstein, 659). The actors should be neutral; they shall not take sides with any party, race, religion or idea that may compromise the process and quality of service provision. If a political entity like the government is given the mandate to oversee such an organization, they may frustrate the proceedings of their activities; therefore the organization should be regulated.

In the past years, a new international norm of humanitarian intervention has developed in international politics since the end of the cold war. Humanitarian intervention is defined as "the use of military force by external actors for humanitarian purpose." These actions used by host countries are usually against the wishes of the host government, but they act to protect the humanitarian interests of the peoples of the host country. Article 2(4) states that other states should not use force when dealing with one another (Bornstein, 659). This statement has two exceptions which are with Security Council authorization and if it for self-defense. This policy came about because the UN felt that other countries needed to be protected if their fundamental human rights were being threatened. They concluded that all people have fundamental rights and that all political regimes should accept humanitarian norms. This scenario shows that there is a high possibility that governments can interfere with how humanitarian services are offered and therefore they should not have the authority to oversee these institutions. Instead, those organizations should develop their internal regulatory systems.

Stakeholder Two

Humanitarian organizations are widespread in most countries prone to crisis. There are accepted standards and procedures that are followed by these institutions in ensuring quality service provision to the victims. Failure to meet these procedures, the various governments should intervine to ensure fairness to the victims. According to Hilhorst, the quality of the services delivered by humanitarian organizations to the affected communities is of paramount importance (Classical humanitarianism and resilience humanitarianism). These organizations run and manage their projects in phases with a good plan and a strategy. The introduction of an oversight authority like the government shall ensure that these organizations are on track.

According to a policy that the UN established in 2005 all Nations have a responsibility to protect. It is called R2P, and it is based on an idea that sovereignty is not a right, but rather a responsibility. Humanitarian Intervention seems like a legitimate policy which will always be used for good and in the best interest for all nations, but that is not still the case. Another assumption is that it will always be able to be used and that is not the case either because there is no power to enforce human rights in world politics and it is sometimes dangerous because of the core principle of the right of self-determination. However, some organizations may rise in the name of helping in maintaining human sanity but having a hidden agenda. Such institutions establish themselves as humanitarian organizations for charity. But, in reality, they use their position to solicit funds from the government and donors which end up in individual pockets. Such scenario frustrates humanitarian work, and in such situations, the state government shall intervene to evaluate the integrity of the organizations.

Stakeholder Three

Key considerations when undertaking humanitarian action include the environment under which a project is executed, and therefore an impact evaluation ought to be conducted. The importance of understanding proper project management procedures is paramount. And so does the choosing of the right methods, maintaining acceptable humanitarian standards and carrying out an impact assessment exercise (Bornstein, 658). This process presents insights into a broad comprehension of needs and challenges for providing genuine solutions required for improving the services delivered by the organization of concern. There is a possibility that an organization can fail to evaluate itself successfully. Therefore, an external entity should be given the mandate to oversee their activities and ensure that they follow the internationally accepted standards.

Everyone should be given fundamental human rights, and that should be enforced around the world. I believe that if a ruler is intentionally harming or killing the citizens and that they are violent to their people, and then they should be forcibly removed from power. I believe that in conclusion if the ruler of a nation is a threat to the people by taking away their fundamental human rights or killing them, then other countries should intervene to protect the people. I also believe that they should be removed from power if they are doing such things and that a group of nations should have to agree to step in to do something, not just one country on its own. By making a certain number of nations decide to do something, this legitimizes their decision, and therefore it makes sure that one government is not just trying to intervene for their own best interests. All these interests shall be implemented if there is a permanent international body like the United Nations to determine the rights that should be given to the people. In the case of retaliation, the United Nations should have the authority to intervene and bring sanity to the victims.

Annotations

Recommended Reading One

Wilson, Christopher. & Jumbert Maria. The new informatics of pandemic response: humanitarian technology, efficiency, and the subtle retreat of a national agency. Journal of International Humanitarian Action, 3, 8, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41018-018-0036-5

The article reviews the use of communication technology by humanitarian organizations in their activities primarily on the rescue of Ebola victims in West Africa. The report distinguishes the use of digital communication tools to diagnose and coordinate activities. The coordination requires more actors hence the need for partnering to ensure the success of the exercise. The article is authored by Christopher Wilson who is an affiliate of the department of media and communication in the University of Oslo. It is coauthored by Maria Gabrielson who is an affiliate of the peace research institute of Oslo. The article adds to the subject of discussion by showing the importance of maintaining international standards when carrying out charity work.

Recommended Reading Two

Rye, Gorm, Olsen Carstensen, Kristian Hoyen. "Humanitarian Crises: What Determines the Level of Emergency Assistance? Media Coverage, Donor Interests, and the Aid Business," Wiley Online Library, 27, 2, 2003: 109-126. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-7717.00223

The article was authored by Olsen Gorm (Inst for Intl Studies Copenhagen), Nils Carstensen (DanChurchAid Copenhagen) and Kristian Hoyen (Danish Refugee Council Copenhagen). It highlights on the three main factors that determine the volume of emergency assistance by humanitarian organizations at a crisis. It is hypothesized that the three factors include the degree of coverage of the particular incident by the media. Secondly is the political interest in the matter and lastly is the strength of the rescue organizations involved. The article adds to my topic by highlighting the three main factors that determine the level of emergency response at the scene of a crisis. It supports my thesis by showing the potential of influence by politics on humanitarian action.

Recommended Reading Three

Maxwell, Daniel G, and Nisar Majid. Famine in Somalia: Competing Imperatives, Collective Failures, 2011-12. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. Print.

The book by Daniel Maxwell and Nisar Majid articulates the famine that hit Somalia in 2011 and 2012. Despite its prediction early in 2010, nothing was done to prevent its fatal effects. The government failed to save its people from hanger due to political instability. The existence of terrorism prevented internal trade and failure in business. External aid by humanitarian organizations could not reach the country due to the unfavorable environment. The book adds to this discussion in its illustration on the failure of the government to save its people hence the need for external organs with a higher authority to execute the mandate and protect innocent citizens from suffering.

Recommended Reading Four

Bakewell, Oliver. "Uncovering Local Perspectives on Humanitarian Assistance and Its Outcomes." Wiley Online Library, 24, 2, 2000: 103-116. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-7717.00136.

The article is authored by Bakewell, Oliver and first published on 16 December 2002. It focuses on the Angolan refugees in Zambia and their perspectives on the inclusion of the local population in the assessment of relief interventions. It also highlights the significance of categorization of emergencies to benefits victims and not other beneficiaries. The paper adds to this discussion the need for scrutiny to identify accurate reports on humanitarian assist...