Humanitarian Relief in the Time of Covid: The Law and the Reality

Abstract

Historically, the focus of humanitarian efforts has been on providing food, clean water, and healthcare support in areas locked in armed conflicts – as such essential ingredients of life are often rendered inaccessible for the people in such regions. However, recently, the Covid-19 pandemic has ravaged the world, bringing new dimensions and challenges to international humanitarian efforts. The added difficulty of the pandemic in regions that are already suffering from armed conflicts feeds off into a vicious cycle. On the one hand, the hostile activities and accompanying displacement of the people fuel the spread of Covid as social distancing and isolation continue to be distant dreams. On the other hand, the conflicts and international-level Covid restrictions severely hamper humanitarian access to the affected regions. In this way, without appropriate medical help via relief efforts, the situation continues to get worse.Against this backdrop, this chapter analyzes what, if any, solutions international humanitarian law can provide to this peculiar problem. It begins with an understanding of how Covid-19 has impacted selected regions that were already facing a humanitarian crisis when the pandemic started. The next section explores the issue of humanitarian access in these regions in the aftermath of the pandemic, including the extent to which relief efforts have been undertaken there and the challenges regarding the same. Then, the chapter delves into the various aspects of international humanitarian law that are applicable in this scenario, which may provide a way out of these challenges. The final section suggests ways forward from the issue based on its legal and practical contexts.KeywordsHumanitarian workersHumanitarian reliefInternational humanitarian lawCovid relief