Humanitarian action and intervention

Abstract

Abstract Humanitarian action involves the armed forces of one or more countries entering the territory, air space, or territorial waters of another country, with the primary objective of rendering humanitarian assistance to the inhabitants, either directly or by assisting organizations whose principal role is the delivery of humanitarian assistance. A formal agreement made in Stockholm in 2003, to which many countries that practice humanitarian action were signatories, set out its objectives as “to save lives, alleviate suffering and maintain human dignity during and in the aftermath of man‐made crises and natural disasters, as well as to prevent and strengthen preparedness for the occurrence of such situations,” and its key principles as “humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.” Humanitarian action on a small scale is, and has been throughout history, one of the most common activities undertaken by many armed forces, ranging from assistance at sea given by navies of all nationalities, to soldiers helping with building projects. In the decade 2001–2010 the United States, the largest single practitioner of this form of humanitarian assistance, mounted on average more than five hundred military humanitarian actions a year in a hundred different countries. On this scale, humanitarian actions are largely uncontroversial, as an extension of diplomacy and international goodwill.