Humanitarianism & War Project

	\|\|\|\| Status Report #7: September 15, 1992
	SINCE OUR REPORT of July 1st, work has continued on a number of fronts. The Project's evaluation of "United Nations Coordination of the International Response to the Gulf Crisis, 1990-1992," which was transmitted to the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs on June 17, was published in mid-July by the Watson Institute as Occasional Paper #13 and circulated to the Project's mailing list. It was also shared with delegations at the review of humanitarian coordination issues by the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in New York on July 21. On September 1, the report was presented by project co-director Larry Minear at the UN International Working Group meeting in Geneva.
	Initial reactions have been uniformly positive. One ambassador to the United Nations in New York wrote that "the report is a comprehensive and penetrating survey of the successes and failures of the humanitarian effort in the Gulf crisis and it is clear that it is based on much careful research". A UN official in the Gulf region found it "comprehensive and accurate in its analysis, conclusions and recommendations." NGOs have also expressed appreciation. The report will be the subject of additional debriefings in the coming months. In the meantime, we welcome other reactions and comments, which will be particularly helpful in the future use made by the Project of the Gulf materials.
	Planning is moving forward in Central America. In September a planning session will be held in Washington involving our colleagues Ana Escalante and Cristina Eguizabel of the Arias Foundation for Peace and Reconciliation to plan upcoming activities. These include a consultation scheduled for November 16-20 in San Jose, Costa Rica to review the Spanish-language version of the Project's draft Handbook for Practitioners and country reviews of humanitarian issues in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala scheduled for November, January and February respectively. The Project has enlisted the services of Peter Sollis, formerly of Oxfam-UK, to assist in these activities.
	At the same time, plans are underway for a conference in Addis Ababa December 1-3. Sponsored by the InterAfrica Group, the meeting will take stock of the progress in the region since the Humanitarian Summit of last Spring. The consultation will also solicit comments on the draft Handbook for Practitioners. Immediately preceding the Addis sessions, discussions will be held in Nairobi reviewing some of the interrelationships, positive and negative, between humanitarian aid and conflict.
	Two additional country studies are in the planning process as well. One involves an in-country review of the UN's activities in Cambodia, tentatively planned for November in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, the other an assessment of the international community's response to the situation in the former Yugoslavia, tentatively scheduled for February-March. Each will review military, political and humanitarian aspects and their interaction, and like the Gulf study, will make recommendations to the institutions involved. As in the earlier evaluation, use will also be made of the personnel from the Watson Institute's "Second Generation Multinational Forces" and from the Refugee Policy Group.
	On the publications front, the project's co-directors have written pieces for the International Herald Tribune and the Christian Science Monitor on the humanitarian impasse in Iraq and the multiple humanitarian crises of the summer (copies attached). A more extended interpretation of the Gulf findings, "Coping and Groping in the Gulf: Discerning the Shape of a New Humanitarian Order", will be published in the October issue of the World Policy Journal. Newly released by the Brookings Institution is a book co-authored by Minear and Francis M. Deng, with a preface by Maurice Strong, entitled: The Challenges of Famine Relief: Emergency Operations in the Sudan. The volume reviews drought-related and war-related famines during the years 1983-1991, drawing on an earlier evaluation of the Office of Emergency Operations in Africa and on the case study of Operation Lifeline Sudan, which served as a predecessor of the current Humanitarianism and War Project.
	Plans are on schedule for the publication of the Handbook of Practitioners in early 1993. The final text will incorporate comments received from organizations and individuals and from the consultations in San Jose, Nairobi, and Addis. Please contact David Lewis in Providence if you would like additional copies of the second draft of the Handbook. We have lifted out the eight principles from the second draft of the Handbook for separate circulation in response to mounting pressure for a "code of conduct" for aid practitioners struggling to respond more effectively in situations of internal armed conflict. A copy of the "Providence Principles," which are expected to be launched publicly early next year, is attached.
	Project staff have participated in a number of meetings over the summer which have offered an opportunity to provide a wider circle of interested organizations and individuals with updates on our activities and to receive their suggestions and comments. Larry Minear visited the Norwegian Refugee Council in Oslo, addressed the Danish Refugee Council's national assembly on "Humanitarian Intervention in the New World Order: Creative Roles for NGOs," and attended the annual roundtable of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law, the theme of which this year was "The Evolution of the Right to Humanitarian Assistance." He will also offer a paper on "Making the System Work Better" at the September 14-15 consultation, "A Framework for Survival: Health, Human Rights, Humanitarian Assistance in Conflicts and Disasters," co-sponsored by the Council on International Health and Cooperation and the Council on Foreign Relations. Thomas G. Weiss addressed a meeting organized by two German foundations for New York-based officials on "The Use of Force in Humanitarian Operations," and participated in a study group organized by the Council on Foreign Relations on "Collective Involvement in Internal Conflicts."
	Support for the project continues to grow. A number of organizations have transmitted second contributions or indicated their intention to do so. The Danish Refugee Council has joined the list of project co-sponsors, and a number of other NGOs and governments are considering doing so.
	We look forward to receiving your comments on our publications, our upcoming activities, and news of your own work on these issues. We would like to request organizations which have not done so to put us on their mailing list so that we can receive the relevant publications.
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