Humanitarian Action
Global, Regional and Domestic Legal Responses

The laws governing humanitarian action stand at the intersection of several fields of international law, regional agreements, soft law and domestic law. Through in-depth case studies and analyses, expert scholars and practitioners come together to offer interdisciplinary approaches which include contributions from legal policy, international relations and philosophical perspectives. Providing invaluable overviews and insights, this collection of essays sheds light on the subject and makes sense of the various elements involved to elucidate the foundations of law and policy of humanitarian action.

Foreword; Introduction Andrej Zwitter, Christopher K. Lamont, Hans-Joachim Heintze and Joost Herman; Part I: 1. International law and humanitarian space in the twenty-first century: challenged relationships Joost Herman; 2. The perils of Dunantism: the need for a rights-based approach to humanitarianism Dirk Salomons; 3. A humanitarian crisis: reframing the legal framework on humanitarian assistance Emilie Kuijt; 4. The utility and limits of legal mandate: humanitarian assistance, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and mandate ambiguity Rotem Giladi; 5. Issues of state consent and international humanitarian assistance in disasters: the work of the International Law Commission Sridhar Patnaik Dabiru; 6. United Nations involvement in humanitarian assistance: competences of the Security Council to face today's obstructions Heike Montag; 7. International norms informing domestic disaster response schemes Heike Spieker; 8. A duty to accept humanitarian assistance under the ICESCR Stefanie Jansen-Wilhelm; 9. Regional human rights regimes and humanitarian obligations of states in the event of disaster Marlies Hesselman; 10. Assessing the complex normative pluralism in humanitarian crises: do local norms matter? Joris Kocken; Part II: 11. Thou shall not … misappropriate humanitarian aid – on European Union humanitarian aid and the fight against corruption Morten Broberg; 12. Developments in African disaster response law and the African Union: a view from the field Sanne Boswijk; 13. Humanitarian assistance and the right to water: an ASEAN region perspective Diana Philip; 14. Indonesian compliance and its effective implementation of international norms on disaster response Heribertus Jaka Triyana; 15. Enforcing aid in Myanmar: state responsibility and humanitarian aid provision Andrej Zwitter and Christopher Lamont; 16. The regionalization of humanitarian action: the role of the OAS Abel Knottnerus; 17. Providing relief in times of war: the role of the ICRC in the Colombian conflict during the Uribe administration (2002–2010) Sandra Borda; 18. Humanitarian assistance and failed states: still an issue of sovereignty? The case study of Haiti Hans-Joachim Heintze; 19. Principles of neutrality and impartiality of humanitarian action in the aftermath of the 2011 Libyan conflict Kubo Mačák; Conclusion Andrej Zwitter, Christopher K. Lamont, Hans-Joachim Heintze and Joost Herman.

Andrej Zwitter is NGIZ Professor of International Relations at the University of Groningen and is also Co-Chair of Research in Ethics and Globalisation, a research section within the inter-faculty Institute of Globalisation Studies Groningen.
Christopher K. Lamont is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the University of Groningen and Co-Chair of Research in Ethics and Globalisation.
Hans-Joachim Heintze is Professor of International Law at the Institute of International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict at the University of Bochum.
Joost Herman is Professor of Globalisation Studies and Humanitarian Action and Director of the Institute for Globalisation Studies Groningen, University of Groningen.