Vale the Humanitarian Principles: New principles for a new environment

For more than 150 years, the international community’s assistance to those affected by war, civil strife and natural disasters has been guided by four clear and succinct principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.

The humanitarian environment has changed significantly in recent years, largely as a result of dramatic increases in refugees and the social, political, economic and environmental impacts of climate change. As a consequence, the principles that underlie and motivate humanitarian responses need to be revised.

This paper proposes four new principles that would better direct humanitarian action in the current environment: equity, solidarity, compassion and diversity.

This paper discusses the deepening complexity of modern humanitarian emergencies and resulting declining suitability of each of the four original principles, before considering the four new suggested principles.

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