Saving lives and
alleviating suffering
Policy for Sweden’s Humanitarian Assistance 2010–2016
Produced by: Department for Development
Policy and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Information Service and Blomquist
Cover photo: Young woman in a refugee camp in Sudan.
Photo: Sven Thorfinn/Panos Pictures
Article number: UD 11.014
ISBN: 978-91-7496-440-0
Printed by: Edita Västra Aros, Västerås, 2011
Additional copies of the booklet can be ordered
on the MFA website: www.ud.se
Saving lives and
alleviating suffering
Policy for Sweden’s Humanitarian Assistance 2010–2016
Contents
Summary6
1.Introduction
7
2.Purpose
9
3.Definitions
10
4.Points of departure and basic principles
11
11
11
13
13
4.1 Sweden's strong position
4.2 Legal framework
4.3 Swedish policy framework
4.4 Key role of the UN
4.5Good Humanitarian Donorship and
needs-based humanitarian assistance
5.Overall goal and direction
5.1Flexible, rapid and effective humanitarian
response designed to meet the humanitarian
needs of today and those of the future. 5.2A strong and coordinated international
humanitarian system
5.3Better interaction with development assistance
and with other types of actions and actors 13
14
14
19
23
6.Implementation
27
6.1Advocacy
6.2 Financial support
6.3 Personnel and material supplies
28
28
29
7.Division of roles and responsibilities
30
8.Follow-up
31
Annex – policy context
32
Operation Lifeline helps displaced persons in Sudan:
picking up food bags air-dropped by the World Food Programme.
Photo: Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo
A Jordanian doctor, working with the UN’s special operation for the Côte d’Ivoire,
provides free medical care to children in Côte d’Ivoire.
Photo: Ky Chung/UN Photo
Summary
The policy establishes the Government’s overall goal for Swedish humanitarian assistance. It sets out the basic premises and principles that are to
guide the preparation and implementation of this assistance, and specifies
the direction that work in this area is to take.
The overall goal of Sweden’s humanitarian assistance is to save lives, to
alleviate suffering and to maintain human dignity for the benefit of people
in need who are, or are at risk of becoming, affected by armed conflicts,
natural disasters or other disaster situations.
The overall goal of Swedish humanitarian assistance is to be achieved by
focusing on three main areas:
• flexible, rapid and effective humanitarian response designed to meet
the humanitarian needs of today and those of the future,
• a strong and coordinated international humanitarian system,
• improved interaction with development assistance and with other
types of interventions and actors.
The policy will apply until further notice, but no later than the end of 2016.
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1. Introduction
When dealing with armed conflict, natural disasters and other disaster
situations, humanitarian assistance is one of the most effective and tangible
means of alleviating the suffering of those in need. Primarily as a result of
a growing number of natural disasters and protracted conflict situations,
humanitarian needs have escalated and international humanitarian activities
have increased dramatically in scale and scope over the past twenty years.
Recurring or protracted humanitarian crises represent a serious obstacle
to development. They risk undermining the development gains that have
already been achieved, while at the same time making it more difficult for
the population to create sustainable growth.
In the future, global humanitarian needs are expected both to increase
and to become more complex in character, due to such factors as a greater
number of protracted armed conflicts – not least in Africa – population
growth, urbanisation, the impact of climate change, the struggle for access
to natural resources, and higher food prices. The trend is towards an increasing number of complex disasters combining natural disasters with ongoing
or latent armed conflicts.
Natural disasters and armed conflicts affect individuals and societies
differently, depending on their degree of vulnerability. In recent years,
extreme vulnerability has increased among populations at risk without this
being directly due to any specific event, such as a natural disaster or an
armed conflict. Rather, such vulnerability is the result of a complex blend of
negative and slow-building underlying factors, not least poverty and weak
public institutions.
The number of international humanitarian actors has increased considerably. They include civil society organisations, donor countries and regional
organisations. In addition, UN bodies have expanded and developed their
humanitarian activities, as has the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement.
International military actors, too, have become more involved and stepped
up their support for humanitarian action, and in recent years this has also
been true for private businesses and foundations.
The growth in both humanitarian needs and the scale of international
humanitarian assistance, along with the presence of a larger and more
diverse group of actors, means that international coordination and a robust,
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effective and efficient international humanitarian system are becoming
increasingly important. There is also a growing need to strengthen partnerships between the UN and other actors.
Today, humanitarian assistance is increasingly being provided in the
same areas and at the same time as other types of interventions, not least
in complex humanitarian crises. These include development-oriented
interventions crucial to sustainable development and to the alleviation of
chronic poverty, which in turn may cause a humanitarian crisis. The gaps
that sometimes develop while waiting for long-term development cooperation to complement the more short-term humanitarian assistance must
be bridged. Humanitarian assistance and long-term development cooperation must interact so as to alleviate suffering, but also in order to pave the
way for long-term solutions. As a rule, development-oriented interventions
should be initiated earlier and be more flexible so that they, in addition to
humanitarian assistance, may meet the challenges in the recovery phase.
All development efforts must also be preventive in character so as to reduce vulnerability and to strengthen the resilience of local communities and
render them better equipped to deal with disasters. Preventive efforts at
an early stage can reduce the need for humanitarian interventions later on.
This trend towards an ever-widening range of activities and of actors
directly concerned with humanitarian assistance means there is a growing
need to develop flexible forms of assistance and approaches so as to maxi­
mise the impact of international action as a whole. At the same time, how­
ever, the basic values and principles of humanitarian assistance must continue to be respected so as to ensure neutral and needs-based humanitarian
assistance.
Thus, international humanitarian assistance is facing a number of challenges. It is vital to ensure that Swedish humanitarian assistance can contribute to the improvement of the ability of the international community
to meet the growing – and in recent years more complex – humanitarian
demands made upon it in a flexible and needs-based manner.
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2. Purpose
The policy establishes the Government’s overall goal for Swedish humanitarian assistance. It sets out the points of departure and basic principles
that are to guide the preparation and implementation of this assistance, and
specifies the direction that work in this area is to take.
The policy applies both to Sweden’s bilateral and multilateral humanitarian assistance as well as to the humanitarian assistance provided by
the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), the Swedish Civil
Contingencies Agency (MSB) and other concerned government agencies.
The policy will apply until further notice, but no later than the end
of 2016.
Truck fleet in Aru in the Democratic Republic of the Congo providing food transports in
the north-eastern part of the country.
Photo: Mikael Nyman, Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency
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3. Definitions
The term humanitarian assistance1 refers to efforts to save lives, alleviate
suffering and maintain human dignity for the benefit of people in need who
are, or are at risk of becoming, affected by armed conflicts, natural disasters
or other disaster situations that seriously affect the coping and survival
mechanisms of population groups or whole communities. In armed conflicts, this applies principally to the civilian population, but may also include
members of armed forces who are no longer engaged in hostilities, such as
the wounded and the sick; in the case of natural disasters and other disaster
situations, this refers to the affected population.
Humanitarian assistance consists of material assistance and protection.
• Material assistance involves supplying such essentials as food, nutritional supplements, emergency shelter, clean water, sanitary facilities,
health care and other health services, and in some cases education,
agricultural support or other not immediately life-saving measures.
• Protection includes measures designed to ensure the rights of women,
men and children in need, particularly the right to dignity and physical safety, and the right to freedom from violence, including sexual
violence. It also involves calling attention to the obligations of armed
groups, registration of the status of refugees or internally displaced
persons, and education about rights and obligations under international law.
Humanitarian assistance often comprise both material assistance and protection, since material assistance protects the rights of vulnerable persons
and protective measures improve the individual’s chances of receiving
material assistance.
In international terminology, the words ‘disaster’, ‘emergency’ and ‘humanitarian’
tend to be combined with the words ‘assistance’, ‘aid’, “relief” ‘operations/activities/
interventions/initiatives/efforts’. These words in their various combinations should be
considered synonymous.
1
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UNHCR rescues Libyans who have fled from Gaddafi’s violence against his own people.
Photo: A Duclos/UN Photo/UNHCR
4. Points of departure and basic principles
4.1 Sweden’s strong position
Sweden’s strong position in international humanitarian assistance is a key
starting point in the policy implementation process. This special position is
due partly to Sweden’s long history of active work to develop international
humanitarian policy, and partly to its sizable financial contributions.
4.2 Legal framework
Sweden’s policy for humanitarian assistance is founded on the Geneva
Conventions of 1949, their Additional Protocols and other sources of international humanitarian law, as well as on international refugee law, human
rights, legal instruments relating to natural disasters, and established international practice in this area.
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Each state has primary responsibility for meeting humanitarian needs that
arise within its borders. In the event that the central government or other
institutions of a country are unwilling or unable to meet this responsibility,
external organisations and states possessing the necessary capability and
capacity have a duty to support efforts to meet such needs, in accordance
with public international law and established practice in international
humanitarian assistance. If possible, such actions are to have the consent
of the state in which the needs exist. This duty is often referred to as the
humanitarian imperative.
The policy is guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.
The humanitarian principles:
Humanity – alleviating suffering wherever it is found.
Impartiality – that humanitarian assistance should be provided on
the basis of need alone, without distinction of any other kind as to
sex, ethnic affiliation, religion or political opinion.
Neutrality – that humanitarian assistance and those providing or
supporting humanitarian assistance must not take sides in an armed
conflict or political dispute where such assistance is carried out.
Independence – autonomy in relation to the non-humanitarian
considerations that donors, recipients or other parties may have in
dealing with the crisis where humanitarian assistance is carried out.
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4.3 Swedish policy framework
The policy takes as its point of departure Sweden’s policy for global development2 with its overall goal of contributing to equitable and sustainable
development worldwide. Although this is not a specific aim of Sweden’s
humanitarian assistance, the policy contributes indirectly to Sweden’s overall development cooperation goal, which is to help create conditions that
enable poor people to improve their lives.
In all contexts, humanitarian assistance is primarily to be guided by
humanitarian needs. Thematic policies, however, should be regarded as an
important supplementary source of guidance.
4.4 Key role of the UN
Sweden’s humanitarian assistance is to comply with the UN resolutions in
this area, particularly General Assembly Resolution 46/182 on humanitarian assistance. It establishes the fundamental and unique task of the UN to
lead and coordinate international humanitarian response, and sets out the
humanitarian principles.
4.5 Good Humanitarian Donorship and
needs-based humanitarian assistance
Sweden’s humanitarian assistance is to be guided by the principles of Good
Humanitarian Donorship (GHD). In accordance with these principles,
Swedish humanitarian assistance is to be needs-based, proportionate to
humanitarian needs and based on needs assessments.
Our common responsibility – Sweden’s policy for global development (Government Bill
2002/03:122, Committee Report 2003/04:UU3), Global challenges – our responsibility
(Government Communication 2007/08:89), Meeting global challenges (Government
Communication 2009/10:129).
2
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5. Overall goal and direction
The overall goal of Sweden’s humanitarian assistance is to save lives, to
alleviate suffering and to maintain human dignity, for the benefit of people
in need who are, or are at risk of becoming, affected by armed conflicts,
natural disasters or other disaster situations.
Sweden’s unique position in international humanitarian assistance will
continue to be used as an important means of furthering the international
policy development in a proactive, innovative and responsible manner. This
special status should be upheld and built upon during the policy period.
The overall goal of Swedish humanitarian assistance is to be achieved by
focusing on three main areas:
5.1 Flexible, rapid and effective humanitarian response
designed to meet the humanitarian needs of today and
those of the future
Sweden will seek to ensure that both its own and international humanitarian assistance is:
• designed so that it in a flexible, rapid and effective and efficient manner can meet the humanitarian needs of women, men, children and
young people in need, in each specific situation and context,
• designed as far as possible with due regard to the special needs of
particularly vulnerable groups.
Sweden’s humanitarian assistance should:
• proceed from a global approach based on needs.
In preparing and implementing humanitarian assistance, Sweden should
devote particular attention to the following challenges and aspects:
a)Civilian populations have increasingly been direct targets in armed conflicts. Sweden will therefore seek to ensure that:
• humanitarian actions for the protection of civilians are introduced
prior to, during and after a conflict,
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United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) helps
refugees from Burundi return home from refugee camps in Tanzania.
Photo: Mario Rizzolio/UN Photo.
• when warranted, the mandates for international peace support missions increasingly contain a mandate, including sufficient capacity and
training, to protect civilians.
b)The number of refugees worldwide has declined in recent years while
at the same time the number of internally displaced persons is growing,
largely as a result of fewer international and a growing number of internal
conflicts. The global trend towards increased urbanisation also applies to
refugees and internally displaced persons. This is presenting humanitarian organisations with new and challenging tasks, not least as regards their
working methods. The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, is leading international efforts to find durable solutions to refugee situations through local
integration, voluntary return and resettlement in third countries. In the
case of internally displaced persons, national governments have prime
responsibility for all their citizens. In addition to providing protection
and support to the internally displaced, the international community can
assist the government of the country in its efforts to find durable solutions
to situations of internal displacement, e.g. in the form of voluntary return
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or local integration. Close cooperation between humanitarian actors and
development actors is crucial if durable solutions for both refugees and
internally displaced persons are to be secured.
Sweden will:
• seek to ensure – where necessary by using new methods and tools –
that humanitarian assistance enables humanitarian actors to help provide refugees and internally displaced persons with effective protection and support, regardless of whether those concerned have taken
refuge in refugee camps, host families or cities,
• support the efforts of the international community to find durable
solutions by striving to achieve closer cooperation between humanitarian actors and development actors. In this connection, the importance
of activities that encourage self-sufficiency and local ownership –
among returning refugees, internally displaced persons and receiving
societies alike – should be emphasised. Sweden will seek to ensure
that this goal is reflected in national and international development
plans.
c)Women as well as children tend to be more at risk than others in humanitarian situations. At the same time, women play an important role as
actors, as organisers of various services in the family and in local communities, and in securing food supplies. In armed conflicts, it is often necessary to take special measures to protect women as well as girls and boys
against violence and other forms of abuse, especially sexual abuse, increased exposure to human trafficking, the risk of being recruited as combatants, and economic and social deprivation, since the distribution of
scarce resources tends to disfavour women and children. In recent years,
sexual violence as a dimension of warfare has distinguished a number of
humanitarian crises in conflict areas. Assistance and protection measures
may be required in such areas as physical safety and security, health,
food supplies and education, with the particular aim of supporting the
economic activities of women and ensuring that development conditions
for children are not undermined.
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In planning and implementing humanitarian assistance, Sweden will:
• seek to ensure that a gender equality perspective informs and is
mainstreamed in all activities,
• take into account the economic activities of women and their important role in food production, as well as their familiarity with local
populations’ means of subsistence and livelihood, social patterns and
other local conditions,
• take into account the special health care needs of women, inter alia in
connection with pregnancy and childbirth,
• take into account the needs of women, men and young people with
regard to sexual and reproductive health, including access to contraceptives,
• take into account the need to protect women against violence and
other abuse,
• take into account the need to protect children against violence and
other abuse,
• take into account children's need for a safe and secure environment,
and for as rapid a return as possible to a normal everyday life.
d) Humanitarian food assistance is designed to protect people’s livelihoods
and to strengthen the resilience of those affected by or recovering from
UNHCR staff unload supplies after Cyclone Nargis on the Thailand-Burma border.
Photo: UN Photo/UNHCR
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an acute or extensive food crisis. Large amounts of imported food assistance, however, may severely undermine local markets, agriculture and
food production.
Sweden will seek to ensure that:
• food for humanitarian assistance is primarily purchased in or close to
the places in which it is to be used,
• donors do not generally tie their humanitarian assistance to their own
production,
• humanitarian food assistance is not restricted to food in kind but also
includes other, more innovative types of support where possible, such
as cash and vouchers that can be exchanged for goods,
• humanitarian food assistance interacts with more long-term development efforts so as to promote food security, agricultural development
and local food production, as well as be based on a comprehensive
approach to the causes of food insecurity and malnutrition.
e) Support for the clearing of mines, cluster bombs and other explosive
remnants of war may be an important area of humanitarian assistance.
The humanitarian part of this frequently long-term endeavour largely
concerns direct efforts to facilitate the repatriation of refugees and internally displaced persons and to contribute to early recovery.
Sweden will seek to ensure that:
• this type of assistance adopts a long-term, development-oriented
approach as early as possible.
f) The adverse effects of environmental impacts and climate change affect
people living in poverty most of all. Women, men, children and young
people already in a vulnerable position are even more susceptible.
Sweden will therefore seek to ensure that:
• humanitarian assistance helps reduce vulnerability to serious damage
from natural disasters – including environment-related and climaterelated disasters – to both individuals and societies,
• humanitarian assistance considers environment and climate aspects as
far as possible, in both a short-term and a long-term perspective.
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g)To reduce vulnerability, steps must be taken to improve preparedness
for and the prevention of damage primarily from natural disasters, and to
facilitate early recovery efforts following a humanitarian crisis, over and
above the fulfilment of immediate needs. Sweden will therefore seek to
ensure that:
• efforts to reduce disaster risk are given priority and are seen as an integral part of humanitarian assistance, and as complementary to longterm development assistance efforts, in accordance with the principles
of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA),
• steps are taken in the early recovery phase to help minimise the future
vulnerability of individuals and societies,
• where possible, contributions are directed at humanitarian interventions that support survival, subsistence and livelihood mechanisms in
the area concerned,
• such contributions are designed as far as possible to strengthen local
capacity, as long as they comply with the humanitarian principles.
5.2. A strong and coordinated international
humanitarian system
A strong and well-coordinated international humanitarian system is crucial
to effective emergency assistance in support of a country’s own efforts. This
system primarily comprises the UN, the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement and international NGOs.
In recent years, humanitarian access – i.e. the possibility of reaching
women, men, children and young people in need – has been restricted
primarily because of a deterioration in the security situation that has made
it impossible for relief organisations to perform their tasks. In a number
of cases, humanitarian personnel have been purposely targeted for direct
attacks and kidnappings.
Sweden will seek to ensure that:
• respect for and compliance with international humanitarian law as
well as the humanitarian principles are safeguarded,
• humanitarian actors are given free and safe access to people in need,
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and that this is respected by all parties concerned. Similarly, Sweden
will support measures to improve security for humanitarian personnel
in the field,
• the international humanitarian system is strengthened further and
that coordination mechanisms are improved and developed.
a) The key role of the UN
The UN has a fundamental and unique task to lead and coordinate international humanitarian efforts. In 2005, the UN launched humanitarian
reforms aimed at making international humanitarian assistance more effective. To strengthen the UN’s central role in humanitarian efforts, Sweden
will:
• safeguard the multilateral mechanisms responsible for coordinating
and implementing assistance, especially those led primarily by the UN,
• support in particular the role of OCHA in this endeavour,
• help strengthen both the UN-coordinated Consolidated Appeals
Process and other appeals, such as flash appeals, and the Common
Humanitarian Action Plans and other common approaches,
• support the mechanisms established by UN General Assembly
Resolution 46/182 and encourage all organisations engaging in
humanitarian activities to work in accordance with these mechanisms,
• support the consolidation of humanitarian reforms,
• strive for efficient modes of financing for humanitarian efforts, including the continued development of pooled funds at country level
and enhancement of the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund
(CERF).
b) The International Red Cross/Red Crescent movement
The international Red Cross/Red Crescent movement holds a special position in the international humanitarian system, not least in view of the global
network provided by the various National Associations. The International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has a unique role to play as a result
of its mission under the Geneva Convention to provide humanitarian assistance and protection and to monitor compliance with humanitarian law.
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Sweden will:
• emphasise the importance and special position of the international Red Cross/Red Crescent movement in the area of international
humanitarian assistance, and particularly that of the ICRC,
• welcome the participation of the ICRC in international coordination
mechanisms for humanitarian assistance, insofar as this is compatible
with the organisation’s independence.
c) Civil society organisations
International and national civil society organisations have an important part
to play in implementing humanitarian assistance. Their close association
with local communities means they are in a unique position to reach people
in need rapidly and effectively. Sweden will seek to ensure that:
• civil society organisations are well coordinated under international
coordination mechanisms,
• international civil society organisations contribute to local capacity
building.
d) The EU
The European Union – via the European Commission and its DirectorateGeneral for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, ECHO – is the world’s
largest official donor of humanitarian assistance. As of 2010, the ECHO
mandate also embodies civil protection, which means that besides financing humanitarian organisations, member states are asked to provide both
material supplies and personnel in connection with certain kinds of humanitarian crises.
Sweden will seek to ensure that:
• the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid is implemented, which
implies a common approach for the EU humanitarian assistance,
• the EU’s financing of humanitarian efforts and its participation
through the provision of material supplies and personnel both comply
with the humanitarian principles and support existing multilateral
mechanisms, especially those led by the UN.
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Base camp in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The camp has been built for WFP in cooperation with various
countries within the framework of the International Humanitarian Partnership. The Swedish Civil
Contingencies Agency has played a key role in the construction of the camp.
Photo: Björn Johansson, Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency.
• the EU maintains its clear and principled stance in the international
humanitarian debate. This should include encouraging states to live
up to their responsibility to assist people in need among their own
population, and, where this does not occur, to provide humanitarian
organisations with unhindered and safe access.
e) International dialogue and partnership
The international humanitarian system cannot be effective without a
positive dialogue and partnership between donor and recipient countries.
Sweden will:
• seek to strengthen this dialogue, both through bilateral initiatives and
in multilateral forums,
• encourage a closer relationship with new humanitarian donor countries to enhance the global consensus on the fundamental principles of
humanitarian assistance.
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5.3 Better interaction with development assistance and
with other types of actions and actors
a) Humanitarian assistance and development assistance
Humanitarian assistance differs from long-term development cooperation
mainly in two ways. First, its basic principles and points of departure are to
a large extent enshrined in international law. Second, the object of humanitarian assistance is to alleviate acute suffering on the basis of humanitarian
needs and should preferably cease when the immediate needs of the affected population have been met. In reality, however, humanitarian assistance
and development cooperation are often being implemented side by side,
which means it is vital that they complement and interact with one another.
To minimise the harmful effects of humanitarian disasters, it is also
important to build up local communities’ preparedness for disasters and
particularly their ability to deal with natural disasters. Such measures can
reduce the risk of human suffering not only in the immediate disaster phase,
but may also counteract future costs in the form of lost livelihoods and opportunities for personal development, protracted trauma injuries, material
damage to property etc.
Likewise, development-oriented preventive measures can help to forestall
or resolve protracted humanitarian crises that may initially appear to be
caused by sudden natural disasters, but are in fact due at least in part to
governance or socio-political failures.
Extreme vulnerability among populations at risk is also expected to
increase in the future, without this being directly due to any specific humanitarian disaster. A combination of broad global trends of one kind or
another, including urbanisation, high food prices and climate change, but also
entrenched unemployment and poverty, may contribute to this vulnerable
condition. Relieving these population groups will necessitate an approach
that relies not only on emergency assistance to meet humanitarian needs
and reduce vulnerability to humanitarian disasters, but also on development
efforts, which should be pursued in parallel to, and in close collaboration
with, the humanitarian assistance efforts so as to improve the humanitarian
situation and sustain improvement in the long term.
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Sweden will seek to ensure that:
• humanitarian assistance, where possible, has a development-promoting effect since rapid, well-implemented humanitarian assistance can
help mitigate the damage that disasters inflict on development processes and potential,
• humanitarian assistance increasingly contributes to local capacity
building, and that such efforts interact with similar efforts in the development assistance so as to procure a long-term, sustainable capability
in countries affected by disasters,
• humanitarian assistance interacts with development-oriented efforts
in the same area so as to reduce vulnerability and make it easier for
individuals living in deprivation and poverty to improve their living
conditions and quality of life.
b) Transition and early recovery
Armed conflicts and natural disasters are often followed by a humanitarian
crisis, which may necessitate emergency assistance. It is important, however,
to also support development efforts in the affected area at an early stage in
the recovery process. The aim is to help create a situation in which longterm sustainable development can eventually take place. In international
donor contexts, this period between the advent of a crisis and a return to
relative stability has come to be known as the transition phase. This refers
not only to the transitional challenges that the country is experiencing but
also to the considerations facing the donors as regards choice of financing
mechanisms for dealing with challenges associated with what is termed
early recovery.
In post-conflict situations, too, humanitarian needs may remain at the
same time as state-building and peace-building processes are necessary.
Distortions in the distribution of assistance may provide a breeding ground
for a resumption of hostilities and refugee flows. It is vital, therefore, to
strengthen cooperation between humanitarian actors and development
actors, irrespective of whether measures are implemented in the wake of a
conflict or of a natural disaster.
Sweden will seek to ensure that:
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• where possible, long-term development efforts complement humanitarian efforts in conflict-affected countries and in the wake of natural
disasters,
• the multilateral actors, who often are responsible for the instruments
for dealing with early recovery needs, improve the quality of these instruments as regards flexibility and relevance for rapid peace-building
efforts and more long-term state-building support,
• development actors respect the fact that humanitarian assistance
is based on the humanitarian principles and that they take steps to
reduce the risk of humanitarian crises recurring.
c) Humanitarian and international military actors
Increasingly, humanitarian and international military actors are operating in
the same geographical areas. This means more areas of contact and, where
possible and where requested, greater opportunities for collaboration.
In areas distinguished by major security problems and a humanitarian
crisis, military actors may play an important part through their presence
or by support that enable humanitarian actors to reach people in need.
Military actors may also play an important supporting role in connection
with natural disasters.
The safe and effective implementation of humanitarian assistance,
however, presupposes that the authorities, the general public and – in the
event of armed conflict – armed groups, in areas at risk are able to rely on
the impartiality and neutrality of humanitarian organisations. Traditionally,
therefore, humanitarian assistance in armed conflicts is provided primarily
by civilian organisations. Humanitarian organisations should always maintain a clear division of roles between themselves as civilians on the one
hand and armed groups and other parties to the conflict on the other. This
approach is particularly important in areas where military forces operate. In
such situations, a lack of clear distinction or even a confusion of roles may
make armed groups more inclined to attack humanitarian personnel on the
pretext that aid organisations have the same objectives and interests as the
international military forces present in the area.
In the case of natural disasters and other disaster situations where there
are no armed conflicts or serious social or political antagonisms, confusion
of roles is usually a less sensitive matter.
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To preserve both the essentially civilian character of humanitarian assistance and a clear division of roles between humanitarian and military actors,
the basic principle is that military actors should not engage in the provision
of such assistance. Exceptions may be warranted in special cases where
equally good civilian alternatives do not exist, but this should primarily
involve indirect support rather than the direct implementation of humanitarian assistance, and should in all instances be conducted under overall
civilian leadership.
Impartiality and neutrality are values ascribed to humanitarian actors
based on how their work and their conduct are perceived by recipients and
other actors in the area of operation.
Sweden will seek to ensure that:
• cooperation between humanitarian and military actors proceeds
in accordance with the UN guidelines established in this field: the
Oslo Guidelines (2007) relating to natural disasters and the MCDA
Guidelines (2003) relating to humanitarian crises in conflict areas.
The IASC’s reference papers (2004) should also be given due con­
sideration,
• the essentially civilian character of humanitarian assistance is preserved and that there is a clear division of roles between humanitarian
and military activities,
• the principles of neutrality and impartiality are upheld and that all
humanitarian interventions meet these basic requirements,
• international multifunctional missions containing military, political,
development-oriented and humanitarian actors, abide by the humanitarian principles as regards both coordination within the missions
and the provision of humanitarian assistance.
d) Human security
The safety and security of the individual plays an important role in Sweden’s
approach to security. Rapid and effective humanitarian assistance is often
the best response in order to ensure the safety and survival of vulnerable
population groups. Sweden will seek to ensure that:
• this basic approach is reflected in support for humanitarian assistance.
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6. Implementation
The policy applies to Swedish bilateral and multilateral humanitarian
assistance. It is to be applied both in the government agencies’ humanitarian
activities and in strategies for cooperation with organisations.
The policy is to be implemented by means of the following three tools:
advocacy work, financial support and the contribution of personnel and
material supplies.
The policy is to serve as a guide when preparing Swedish positions and
standpoints in multilateral organisations, in negotiations on relevant conventions and processes, in the development of international policy and dialogue, in the EU, the UN and other international forums.
Corruption risk management is to be an integral part of the process of
implementing humanitarian assistance. Besides ensuring that the requisite
knowledge and understanding of the situation is available at the time of
assessment, Sweden will seek to ensure that there are clear rules for how
suspected corruption is to be followed up.
Important components in the efforts to strengthen the international
humanitarian system are methods development, capacity building and
a greater emphasis on results-based management. In implementing the
policy, Sweden will therefore consider the following components:
– support aimed at raising awareness about international humanitarian
law and strengthening the monitoring of compliance with it,
– support for methods development, evaluation, training and other
activities that help enhance accountability and the further professionalisation of humanitarian actors,
– support for initiatives and processes that encourage the development of
common needs assessments so as to enhance the quality of such documents; well-coordinated and adequate needs assessments are crucial if
humanitarian assistance is to be effective and needs-based,
– the encouragement of forward-looking, cost effective and innovative
humanitarian assistance. To this end, closer contact will particularly
need to be established with businesses, the private sector and the
research community to encourage the development of new technological solutions and methods in order to reach people in need more
effectively.
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Uzbek refugees express grief and fear following violent clashes between
Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in Kyrgyzstan in June 2010.
Photo: UN Photo/EPA
6.1 Advocacy
Through national and international advocacy work in the humanitarian
field, including diplomacy, strategic dialogue and the dissemination of
information, Sweden will seek to ensure that international humanitarian
assistance as a whole develops along the lines described in this policy.
In particular, Sweden will strive for full compliance with international
humanitarian law, with the requirements of human rights and with other
legal regulations in this area, as well as with the humanitarian principles.
6.2 Financial support
Sweden provides financial support to both Swedish and international organisations that implement humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian assistance
may include activities that improve preparedness for and the prevention of
damage primarily from natural disasters, and that facilitate early recovery
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support following a humanitarian crisis, over and above the fulfilment of
immediate needs.
Sweden will contribute funding to a mix of organisations based on their
comparative advantages, especially UN bodies, the International Red Cross/
Red Crescent movement and civil society organisations.
To promote coordination and strategic direction, Sweden is also prepared
to contribute financially to pooled funds at country level.
Such contributions will only be provided to organisations whose work is
compatible with this policy and that otherwise conform to internationally
accepted norms and standards in the humanitarian field. Swedish funding
will only be provided to organisations that are a party to established international codes of conduct in the operational field concerned, or that have
successfully implemented undertakings of a similar kind.
In accordance with the principles of Good Humanitarian Donorship,
contributions are to be flexible and predictable, the aim being to enable
recipient organisations to adapt their efforts to developments in the geographical area in which they are operating, and to facilitate planning.
Sweden will seek to ensure that implementing organisations continually
examine and assess the impact their activities may have on conflict patterns
in the areas in which they operate.
6.3 Personnel and material supplies
Sweden is to maintain preparedness for implementing or supporting humanitarian assistance through the provision of personnel and material supplies.
This may for instance involve participation in search and rescue operations
following natural disasters, support activities of various kinds (e.g. base
camps, IT/information management, water cleaning, sanitation, logistics)
to assist humanitarian organisations engaged in the coordination or implementation of humanitarian assistance, or it may involve the strengthening
of disaster preparedness and early recovery support following disasters, or
humanitarian mine action. The provision of Swedish personnel and material supplies is primarily to be provided by the Swedish Civil Contingency
Agency (MSB).
Secondments to international organisations should also be considered.
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7. Division of roles and responsibilities
Cooperation and dialogue between a wide range of actors in Sweden, in
the recipient countries, regionally and globally, is crucial to the successful
implementation of this policy. These actors include individual states, international and intergovernmental organisations, civil society organisations,
government agencies and the private sector.
The Government Offices are responsible for core support to, and overall
Swedish policy towards, multilateral organisations engaging in humanitarian or partly humanitarian activities. First and foremost, this includes UN
bodies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Organisation for Migration. The Government Offices also have overall
responsibility for cooperation under the Good Humanitarian Donorship
(GHD) initiative and for dialogue and cooperation regarding the EU’s
humanitarian activities.
A further area of responsibility for the Government Offices is the advocacy work described in Section 6.1.
Sida is to apply the present policy in the implementation of its strategy
for humanitarian assistance and is also required to assist the Government
Offices with advocacy work. Sida is further responsible for financial support to humanitarian assistance at country and regional level, including
support for the UN’s Consolidated Appeals Process and the appeals of the
Red Cross movement. Sida is also responsible for contributions to national
and international civil society organisations for humanitarian activities and
to promote capacity building among these organisations. Sida is likewise
responsible for funding the activities of the Swedish Civil Contingency
Agency at country and regional level.
The role of the Swedish Civil Contingency Agency and its responsibilities as defined in its Letter of Instruction, is to maintain preparedness for
implementing or supporting search and rescue and disaster relief operations, and to support activities in the fields of humanitarian mine action,
the strengthening of disaster preparedness and early recovery. The agency
is to be an operational actor and its contributions are to take the form of
personnel and/or material supplies.
The present policy should also be applied by other Swedish agencies
concerned with humanitarian assistance.
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The various actors and tools are mutually reinforcing in the policy implementation process. To help achieve the goals of humanitarian assistance, it
is vital that policy, financing and operational activities are perceived as parts
of the same chain, and that the various tools and elements of the work are
implemented in close collaboration with one another and in a coherent
manner. The operational work should generate feedback from lessons
learned in the field and thereby promote policy implementation as well as
contribute to further policy development.
Sida and the Swedish Civil Contingency Agency also play an important
role in Sweden’s work with multilateral organisations and within the EU,
and are required to pass on experiences and lessons learned from their respective areas, based on their own expertise, that can help the Government
assume its overall responsibility for humanitarian policy development.
8. Follow-up
The present policy is to apply until further notice, but no later than the end
of 2016. A mid-term review of the policy is to be undertaken no later than
2013 to determine whether it needs to be altered or supplemented.
At the end of the period, the policy’s application and relevance are to
be followed up.
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ANNEX – POLICY CONTEXT
1. Legal framework
The obligations of parties to an armed conflict in respect of humanitarian
assistance are regulated by the 1949 Geneva Conventions on protection of
the victims of war and by their Additional Protocols. The conventions also
prescribe options for impartial humanitarian organisations to protect and
assist civilians. Today, these rules confirm that if a warring party cannot meet
the needs of the civilian population, that party may not arbitrarily refuse an
offer of humanitarian assistance. An offer of humanitarian assistance may
not be regarded as interference in the internal affairs of another state, confirmed in the Geneva Conventions, resolutions adopted by the UN General
Assembly and the Security Council and other relevant texts.
The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols also contain rules which grant access for impartial humanitarian organisations operating in
an armed conflict to civilians or non-combatant members of armed groups,
for the purpose of providing assistance. There is also a general obligation for
states and other parties to an armed conflict to facilitate relief operations
in general, a principle that has been confirmed by the UN in resolutions
adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council. Furthermore,
the General Assembly has subsequently urged states and other parties to
guarantee humanitarian organisations access to humanitarian disaster scenes of every kind, not just those that take place in an armed conflict.
The legal instruments that specifically underpin relief operations in connection with natural disasters and other disaster situations differ in part
from those that apply in the case of armed conflicts. Overall, however, the
basic principles are the same.
The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) with its Addi­
tional Protocol (1967) is a fundamental instrument of international law for
the protection of refugees. It gives the UNHCR a unique general mandate
to protect people defined as refugees under the convention.
In the case of internally displaced persons, humanitarian assistance
efforts are to accord with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Dis­
placement (1998), which are designed to protect this group.
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The rules concerning human rights constitute a further basis for meeting
humanitarian assistance needs both in armed conflicts and in disaster situations. Each state has a responsibility to comply with and implement human
rights in its own territory. When humanitarian assistance is nevertheless
provided or supported by outside states, such action must comply with the
principles of human rights, as expressed above all in the 1948 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and in the 1966 UN Covenants on Civil and
Political Rights and on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. The assistance
is to ensure compliance with first of all the right to life and personal safety,
but also with the right to food, housing, health and social security, in those
cases where compliance is being compromised due to disaster conditions.
2. The UN
The General Assembly Resolution 46/182 on humanitarian assistance
(1991) was adopted unanimously and established a number of the principal institutions in the UN system for coordination of international relief
operations. The resolution applies both to armed conflicts and to natural
disasters and other disaster situations. In particular, it confers on the UN
the fundamental and unique task of leading and coordinating international
humanitarian action and sets out the principles that are to guide international humanitarian assistance. The resolution provides a basis for the activities
of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA).
Humanitarian assistance is further required to take special account of the
UN Security Council’s resolutions on women, peace and security (Resolutions 1325 [2000], 1820 [2008], 1888 and 1889 [2009]). The UN Security Council resolutions on children in armed conflicts (Resolutions 1612
[2005] and 1882 [2009]) must also be given due consideration.
In 2005, the UN launched humanitarian reforms aimed at making international emergency responses more effective. The reforms focused on four
specific areas:
– enhanced capacity and leadership in all sectors through the establishment of a ‘cluster approach’
– rapid and flexible financing of humanitarian crises
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– better humanitarian coordination and leadership in the field
– more effective partnerships between the UN and humanitarian
organisations outside the UN system.
3. Other international policies
Sweden is guided in its humanitarian assistance policy by the principles
of Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) agreed on by 16 states and the
European Commission at a meeting in Stockholm in 2003. These principles, to which all EU and OECD member states subsequently acceded, have
since come to be regarded as generally accepted principles for humanitarian
donors at international level. They aim both to improve the way donors act
and to encourage them to take greater responsibility for their actions. These
principles are important since they clarify the role of donor countries in
contributing to such components as needs-based humanitarian assistance,
flexible and predictable funding and greater accountability.
Sweden’s humanitarian assistance is to be guided by the EU Consensus
on Humanitarian Aid from 2007 and by the accompanying Action Plan
from 2008. The consensus document establishes a common approach for
the EU’s humanitarian assistance.
The Hyogo Framework for Action is the framework for international
efforts in the field of disaster risk reduction (DRR).
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Sweden’s humanitarian assistance
policy is based on the objective of
international development co­
operation, to help create conditions for poor women and men
to improve their lives, and the
Government’s policy for global
development, the overall goal of
which is to contribute to equit­
able and sustainable global development.