GPPi calls for humanitarian donors to clarify priorities at conference in Istanbul

On 21 October 2013, GPPi Associate Director Andrea Binder served as a panelist at a four-day Wilton Park conference in Istanbul dealing with emerging donors within the international system of humanitarian assistance. 

One of three panelists weighing in on the discussion, Binder called for donors to be more explicit about the moral rules that underlie the aid they give and to apply those rules coherently. She argued that emerging and established donors alike often fail to clearly establish ideological priorities, which can be problematic for cooperation. 

Within humanitarian assistance, explained Binder, there are two dominant schools of thought among donors. The duty-based approach aims to allocate aid to those with the greatest need, whereas the consequentialist approach aims to reduce the sum of all needs by allocating aid where it can address root causes of suffering. 

These competing approaches define success differently, explained Binder. Duty-based giving looks at whether it has resolved the overall greatest need. Consequentialist giving looks at whether it has eliminated the root causes of suffering. As a result, unclear priorities can lead to confusion and undermine collaboration between donors. Donors face certain questions, explained Binder. ​“Is humanitarianism about the needs of the individual or the sum of all needs? Is the central moral yardstick about intentions or about results?” 

In reality, most donors mix duty-based and consequentialist principles when giving aid. The failure to establish clear priorities, however, has led emerging donors to perceive established donors as hypocritical while established donors find the emerging ones unwilling to cooperate. The risk, Binder said, is that aid in the international humanitarian system is neither based on good intentions nor on producing good results. 

The observations that Binder discussed during her presentation derive from a GPPi discussion paper that she co-authored titled Reflections on the Inequities of Humanitarian Assistance.

The conference, titled ​“Advancing Humanitarian Action: Engaging with Rising Global Actors to Develop New Strategic Dialogue and Partnerships,” was organized in association with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI).