Humanitarian action: A delicate balancing act

Abstract

Increasingly a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) appear to be demanding the right to provide humanitarian assistance and at the same time the right to denounce any violations of human rights. Whereas these are fine and understandable aspirations, they do not coincide with accepted principles of relief law and practice. This short article will explore certain aspects of this subject, primarily in relation to the treaty law applicable to circumstances of armed conflict and in occupied territories (International Humanitarian Law).