Tom Kabau and Shahla Ali on the Global Regulation of Humanitarian Relief (BrooklynJIL)

"A Human Rights-Based Approach to the Global Regulation of Humanitarian Relief: The Emerging Obligation to Incorporate Local Participation"

Tom Kabau and Shahla Ali

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

2015, Vol. 40, Issue 3, pp 791-826

Introduction (excerpt): This article is based on the view that the global regulatory framework of humanitarian relief that is emerging, under the auspices of both state and non-state actors, is premised on a human rights-based approach to humanitarian assistance, which may crystallize a duty to ensure local participation. It is in that context that the article proceeds to examine the problems and opportunities associated with the obligation to ensure local participation. 

The term “humanitarian” is often associated with humane and positive actions in relation to humanity.1 Humanitarian assistance or relief is meant to alleviate the suffering of populations affected by a humanitarian crisis by protecting life and safeguarding the human dignity of affected peoples.2 An examination of international legal instruments such as treaties, resolutions adopted under the auspices of the United Nations (“U.N.”), and the practice of states, confirms the existence of a right to provide humanitarian assistance. Therefore, as this section will demonstrate, the right to provide humanitarian assistance exists in international law... Click here to download the full article.

New Article: Crowd-Sourced Governance in a Post-Disaster Context

"Crowd-Sourced Governance in a Post-Disaster Context"

International and Comparative Law Quarterly

FirstView Article, September 2014, 16 pp.

Shahla Ali

Abstract: In the wake of recent catastrophic natural disasters, the United Nations (UN) has developed an increasingly sophisticated network of collaborative partnerships to assist with humanitarian relief operations. The growing use of open-source technology such as crowd mapping and resource tracking—being universally accessible, collaboratively designed, subject to ongoing improvement, and responsive to on-the-ground needs—reflects in many respects the emerging UN governance mechanisms developed to support the creation of such technology. The 2008 meeting of the World Economic Forum called for increased documentation and ‘dissemination of the work of humanitarian relief’ and ‘mapping of assets, non-food items’ and resources to prevent duplication.

However, as yet, little attention has been given to the role of open-source governance mechanisms in the context of disaster response. This article aims to fill this gap by examining the emerging mechanisms by which private sector collaboration is coordinated by international institutions such as the UN. It finds that the emergence of post-disaster open-source humanitarian relief reflects the observations of new governance legal scholars that coordination is increasingly the result of expanded participation and partnership on the part of governments and non-State actors, a learning-focused orientation, with the State increasingly acting as a convener, catalyst and coordinator.  Click here to read full article.