Humanitarianism & War Project

	\|\|\|\| Status Report #20: November 16, 1995.
	THIS IS ANOTHER in our series of reports designed to keep the stakeholders of the Humanitarianism and War Project and its increasingly wide circle of users current on our work. This report covers the period since July 14 1995.
	CONTENTS:
	The Media as a Humanitarian Actor Research and Publications in Progress Upcoming Activities Administrative Note

	THE MEDIA AS A HUMANITARIAN ACTOR
	During the summer and fall we have given priority to examining the influence of the media on policy formation by governments and on activities by humanitarian organizations. The result will be a book by Lynne Rienner Publishers (in hard cover and inexpensive paperback editions) scheduled for early 1996 entitled The News Media, Civil Wars, and Humanitarian Action. The volume is intended to serve as something of a primer for humanitarian organizations in understanding the media as it affects their activities. It is also expected to aid journalists not familiar with humanitarian issues or organizations and policy-makers who relate to both the media and humanitarian agencies.
	A manuscript which our consultant Colin Scott helped to draft this summer formed the basis for two workshops in October: one outside Geneva, the other in Washington, DC. Co-hosting these sessions were our colleagues Peter Walker (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies), Ed Girardet (International Centre for Humanitarian Reporting), Peter Shiras (InterAction), and Robert Nevitt (National War College and the U.S. Information Agency).
	Each meeting was attended by working professionals from the media, government policy-makers, and humanitarian practitioners. While the discussions at the two meetings proceeded along somewhat different lines, both groups affirmed the utility of further analysis of the "CNN factor" and of the proposed publication. We found the suggestions of working journalists associated with such organizations as the BBC, ITN, CNN, National Public Radio, and USA Today particularly helpful. The experiences shared by policy-makers and humanitarian organizations were also illuminating.
	The manuscript is now being revised to incorporate suggestions received. Discussions are also underway regarding publication of a separate booklet providing practical suggestions to humanitarian and media professionals. As our work proceeds, we would appreciate hearing from humanitarian organizations which have developed information policy and strategies to guide their relations with the media.
	Recent discussions have built on an earlier workshop held in Cambridge, MA, co-sponsored with the World Peace Foundation. The papers prepared for that meeting, accompanied by an introduction and conclusion by Robert I. Rotberg and Thomas G. Weiss, will be published early in 1996 by The Brookings Institution as From Massacres to Genocide: The Media, Public Policy, and Humanitarian Crises. A copy of the book's "Table of Contents" is attached. Our work on the media is supported by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
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	RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS IN PROGRESS
	We are completing work on two monographs which will be published shortly. The first, Armed Conflicts in Georgia: A Case Study in Humanitarian Action and Peacekeeping, reviews international and regional responses, humanitarian and political-military, to civil strife in Georgia proper, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia. Its authors are S. Neil MacFarlane, Larry Minear, and Stephen D. Shenfield. The second, entitled UN Coordination in Complex Emergencies: Lessons from Afghanistan, Mozambique, and Rwanda, analyzes the structures used in each crisis to orchestrate humanitarian action and to interface with international political-military presence. It was written by Antonio Donini while on sabbatical leave at Brown University from the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs.
	The OECD is planning to publish within the next several months the manuscript by Larry Minear and Philippe Guillot, Soldiers to the Rescue: Humanitarian Lessons from Rwanda. Minear will also continue to advise in the preparation of the final report of the Joint Evaluation of Emergency Aid to Rwanda, which is scheduled for publication in January.
	A second book-length volume is scheduled for publication by the United Nations University Press in the spring. Volunteers against Conflict is a collection of personal reflections by UN Volunteers who have served in major UN peacekeeping and humanitarian operations such as Cambodia, South Africa, Mozambique, Somalia, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia. The book also contains chapters by Minear and Weiss which set the experiences recounted in their broader historical and institutional context and offer some thoughts on the implications of the UNV experience for the United Nations system and the international community. The volume is priced at US $20, with a developing country price of $10. A flyer providing more details will be included with the next Status Report.
	We were pleased to be invited to share our Project's research findings and recommendations to date at a meeting in Geneva October 3 hosted by the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs. The presentation by Minear was well received by the audience of about fifty from the diplomatic and humanitarian communities. At the conclusion of the ensuing discussion, DHA noted its intention to continue the dialogue between practitioners and other researchers on key issues and developments.
	We are including with this Status Report copies of two recent articles: Thomas G. Weiss, "Military-Civilian Humanitarianism: The 'Age of Innocence' is Over," International Peacekeeping , vol. 2, no. 2 (Summer 1995); and Jarat Chopra and Thomas G. Weiss, "Prospects for Containing Conflict in the Former Second World," Security Studies , vol. 4, no. 3 (Spring 1995).
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	UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
	In the last Status Report, we noted a new undertaking, in collaboration with the Fourth Freedom Forum and the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, to review the impact of economic sanctions on civilian populations and humanitarian action. In September, the sponsors convened a workshop in New York at which the preliminary findings of a DHA study of sanctions were discussed. In December, the sponsors will bring together the researchers who will spearhead desk reviews of the effects of sanctions in Iraq, former Yugoslavia, Haiti, and South Africa.
	During the early part of 1996, if additional resources are mobilized, data gathering in each country, following by workshops and an international conference, will be carried out. Organizations which would like to share their experiences with economic sanctions are encouraged to contact the coordinator of this initiative at the Humanitarianism and War Project, Cindy Collins.
	Plans are going forward for our case study of Haiti, which will review the involvement of the international community during the years 1986-1995. The decade-long time frame allows for an examination of a variety of different strategies pursued, including economic sanctions, military action, and democracy-building. We are pleased to announce that the team, which will conduct in-country research in January, will be led by Robert Maguire of the Inter-American Foundation. The report is expected to published in the late spring.
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	ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE
	Please note that the fax number of the Project has been changed, effective immediately, to 401-863-3808. The Project may be contacted as follows:
	Humanitarianism and War Project Brown University Box 1970 Providence, RI 02912-1970 telephone: 401-863-2728 fax: 401-863-3808 e-mail: H&WProject@Brown.edu
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