Humanitarianism & War Project

	\|\|\|\| Status Report #5: May 6, 1992
	THE TWO MONTHS THAT HAVE ELAPSED since the last "Status Report" have been productive ones for the Humanitarianism and War Project. This report recaps recent developments and surveys upcoming events.
	A consultation in Providence, RI on April 8 reviewed a draft document: "Principles and Policy Guidelines for Aid Practitioners in Situations on Armed Conflict." The 26 experts drawn from a range of UN agencies, governments, NGOs, and the ICRC were strongly supportive of the document and made a variety of suggestions to strengthen the content. A second draft, which will serve as the basis for consultations later in the year in the Horn of Africa and Central America, will soon be circulated for comment. Further revised, it will be printed for general distribution at year's end.
	In late February and early March, Larry Minear worked with the InterAfrica Group in Addis to prepare background documentation for the first-ever, regionally-initiated summit on humanitarian concerns. The meeting drew together heads of state, governments, and insurgent groups from the region, along with donor governments, UN agencies, and NGOs. The regional participants agreed upon an affirmation of humanitarian principles and a plan of action. In Nairobi as well as Addis, Minear conducted Project research on successful strategies of humanitarian access in recent years.
	Project staff continued to serve as a resource to discussions of humanitarian issues. Thomas Weiss attended a two-day brainstorming session in Tarrytown, NY on April 10-11 organized by the United Nations Association. The conference provided guidance to the Secretary-General's Ad Hoc Task Force which is to provide proposals for improving the UN's security apparatus in response to the first-ever Security Council summit last January. Larry Minear participated in a discussion in New York on April 13 sponsored by the UNA and the Human Rights Center of the Law School of the State University of New York at Buffalo. A small group of diplomats, UN secretariat and NGO officials, and scholars reviewed tensions between humanitarian initiatives and state sovereignty.
	On April 28 Weiss and Minear met with UN Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Eliasson to share work progress. Ambassador Eliasson expressed appreciation for the predecessor Sudan case study, which had recommended consideration of a high-level humanitarian coordinator position to serve as a focal point for UN involvement in civil wars. "In this day and age at the end of the Cold War when we face an eruption of civil conflict," Eliasson commented, "we have to devise new tools to get the humanitarian system to perform better". He welcomed the work being done by the Project as a contribution to that process.
	Looking to the future, the Project is giving priority to an evaluation requested by UNDRO of UN coordination of humanitarian activities in the Gulf following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Following interviews in the Middle East, Europe and the United States, the team will meet in Geneva in early June to draft an independent report for the summer session of ECOSOC. Project staff will also participate in conferences in May in Bellagio, Italy and Hanover, NH. Project issues will also be central to discussions in mid-May organized by the Watson Institute on " Collective Security in a Changing World".
	Plans are going forward for a volume entitled Humanitarianism Across Borders to be published in Mid-1993. Nine authors have been commissioned to write individual chapters; commentary will be provided by Weiss and Minear, who will serve as editors. The volume will explore the conceptual framework, practical realities, and future directions for humanitarian aid in conflict settings. A meeting of authors is planned for mid-December in Providence.
	To date, fifteen organizations have contributed funds to the Project: Five UN organizations, three governments, and seven NGOs. Some additional grants are pending; other sponsors are welcome.
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