Humanitarian Solutions in the 21st Century
Series Ed.: L.W. Roeder
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Drawing on the expertise of practitioners from around the globe, this series is dedicated
to the hard work of civil society at large and the NGO community in particular. It will
help civil society be more effective and illustrate best practices from its perspective,
generally through cooperation with international organizations and governments, while
remaining independent. Failed nation states and conflicts threaten global economic
security in the 21st century. Arab Spring has brought both democracy and chaos. Ethnic
groups increasingly want independence or autonomy, e.g. the Kurds of Iraq and many
Bedu of the Sinai Peninsula. There are also over 43.7 million refugees and internally
displaced persons around the world, and over the last decade about a quarter of a
billion people have been affected by natural disasters worldwide, sometimes in areas
of conflict where the natural phenomena hinder public order and good governance.
Millions suffer every year from human rights and civil rights violations, everything from
elder abuse in disasters to prisoners in solitary confinement, women and children in every
crisis and the LGBTI community. In addition, while some armed non-state actors will
sign Deeds of Commitment to abide by international norms of behaviors, other commit
acts of terrorism. Violations on international humanitarian law (IHL) abound. Although
governments, the UN and other international organizations play important roles dealing
with these issues, increasingly NGOs (private, non-profits managerially independent of
governments) conduct both operations to save lives and develop strategies to change
the status quo. Peacekeeping is certainly one of the areas where cooperation will be
important. In every conflict around the globe where there is a peacekeeping operation,
NGOs also play roles directly impacting the civil population and sometimes as advisers to
the host government. It’s important for NGOs therefore to understand how peacekeeping
has evolved since the first multilateral operation in SAARLAND during the period of the
League of Nations to today’s varied programs, not all of which are run directly by the
UN, e.g. the MFO (Multinational Forces and Observers). As Series Editor, I encourage
NGOs in any manner of disaster or development project to introduce themselves to the
UN Resident Representative so that the UN can be a partner. In conflicts where there
are peacekeeping operations between true combatants, NGOs should retain neutrality;
but introduce themselves as well in order to avoid confusion. Even while neutral in
the conflict, both the Peacekeeper and the NGO can collaborate, for example in the
evacuation of civilians. Of course, every crisis is different. We often see tension when a
host government appoints a military force as the logistical lead, as was frequently the
case during the Tsunami crisis when US forces and those of other nations operated in
Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Similarly, the US air force provided direct logistical aid
to NGOs during the Cyclone Nargis, flying in supplies for free, thus significantly reducing
the cost of relief for NGOs. If associating with peacekeeping operations or UN agencies
endangers an NGO’s security, the NGO needs to act appropriately; but communication is
essential in every crisis, both to educate the peacekeepers or UN and other relief agencies
as to the role and security fears of the NGO; but also to provide the IO or peacekeepers to
share their own perspective. Cooperation is different than partnering.
Submission information at the series homepage and springer.com/authors
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