Humanitarian aid and human rights are two concepts that are closely related, yet distinct in their approach to addressing issues of global concern. Both seek to promote the well-being of individuals and communities, but they do so through different means and with different objectives in mind. At their core, humanitarian action and human rights share a common goal of promoting human dignity and alleviating human suffering. At the center of both ideas are humans and the concept of humanity.
While both humanitarian assistance and human rights aim to promote the well-being of people, they differ in terms of objectives, scope, actors, and guiding principles. In a nutshell, humanitarian aid is focused on providing emergency assistance in crisis situations, while human rights aim to ensure that individuals' basic rights are protected at all times.
Definitions
The term humanitarian has two distinguishable meanings: (a) concerned with the alleviation of human need, directed towards the relief of human suffering; (b) related to the plight of people, characterized by the existential need of many people.
Humanitarian aid aims to provide relief and assistance to people in crisis, such as those affected by natural disasters, armed conflict, or other emergencies. The focus of humanitarian action is on meeting immediate needs, such as providing food, water, shelter, and medical care, as well as protection from harm and exploitation.
A humanitarian crisis is an event or series of events that threaten the health, safety, livelihood or well-being of a large group of people.
Human rights, on the other hand, are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many others. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination.
Human rights seek to promote and protect the rights and freedoms of individuals and communities, as enshrined in international human rights law. Human rights are universal, inalienable, and indivisible, and include civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. The focus is on ensuring that individuals are able to live with dignity and respect, free from discrimination, oppression, and other forms of human rights violations.
Differences
Purpose
As we have seen, humanitarian aid is primarily concerned with providing assistance to individuals and communities in crisis and emergency situations, such as natural disasters, wars, conflicts, epidemics, and other human-made disasters to alleviate their suffering and ensure their survival. Humanitarian assistance focuses on meeting immediate needs, while human rights seek to address the underlying causes of suffering and inequality. Human rights are primarily concerned on promoting and protecting the inherent dignity, freedoms, and rights of all individuals.
Scope
Humanitarian aid is often delivered in emergency situations and is focused on providing immediate assistance and disaster relief with the aim of saving lives and alleviating human suffering. Human rights, however, are broader and aim to ensure that all individuals have their basic rights respected and protected at all times.
While humanitarian support focuses on providing immediate assistance and disaster relief with the aim of saving lives and alleviating human suffering in the short-term, protecting human rights and promoting universal respect for them is a long-term challenge.
Humanitarian aid is often provided in emergency situations, while human rights are applicable in all contexts, including times of peace and stability.
Humanitarian aid is regularly delivered through direct assistance, while human rights are promoted through advocacy, policy reform, and legal action.
Additionally, humanitarian aid is provided on the basis of need, while human rights are universal and apply to all people.
Actors
Humanitarian aid is delivered by a range of actors, including international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and national governments. In contrast, the protection and promotion of human rights are primarily the responsibility of governments, although civil society organizations and international bodies also play an important role.
International organizations and entities
Numerous international organizations are concerned with humanitarian assistance. Among them are UN organizations and entities, such as the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) or the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
While OCHA and WFP are regarded primarily as humanitarian actors, UNHCR and UNICEF are among the humanitarian organizations that are also responsible for the protections of human rights of large groups worldwide, notably refugees and children.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), on the other hand, is the entity responsible for human rights, but he is also an important voice for the plight of people in humanitarian crises as human rights violations are often the cause of a crisis or at the center of it.
Non-governmental organizations
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Federation for Human Rights are classic human rights organizations. Examples of typical humanitarian organizations include the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as well as the national red cross and red crescent organizations, CARE International, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), OXFAM International, Mercy Corps, Concern Worldwide, or The Danish Refugee Council (DRC).
However, many NGOs describe themselves as both a humanitarian and human rights organization. Save the Children is an international non-governmental organization that campaigns for the rights and protection of children and also delivers urgent humanitarian assistance for children worldwide. Médecins du monde (MdM, Doctors of the World) is an international humanitarian and human rights organization which provides emergency and long-term medical care to the world's most vulnerable people. The non-governmental organization is also committed to ensuring that all people worldwide can exercise their right to health.
Further information on actors
You can find a compilation of organizations that primarily work to promote human rights under Human Rights Organizations. Humanitarian organizations can be found under the following pages: Humanitarian Crisis Relief, Refugees and IDPs, Children in Need, Hunger and Food Insecurity, Medical Humanitarian Aid, Vulnerable Groups, and Faith-Based Humanitarian Organizations.
Principles
Humanitarian aid is grounded in the principle of humanity, which emphasizes the value of every human life and the obligation to alleviate suffering. Other important humanitarian principles are impartiality, neutrality, and independence.
Human rights are based on the principle of universality, which asserts that human rights apply to all people, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, or other characteristics. Other important human right principles are indivisibility, and interdependence.
Intertwined: Human rights in humanitarian crises
Despite these differences, there is significant overlap between humanitarian aid and human rights. Both recognize the inherent value of human life and the importance of promoting human dignity. Human rights and humanitarian aid are sometimes closely intertwined. In humanitarian crises around the world the most basic human rights are threatened like the right to live or the right to health.
More often than not, human rights violations are the cause of an emergency or at the center of it. Humanitarian organizations also must respect the rights of people in need and must pay attention to them in the provision of emergency relief.
During the response to a humanitarian crisis, protecting human rights is an overarching and key component of humanitarian action. But it is also critical before a crisis hits and after it improves, either through preparedness and prevention or through strengthening resilience, promote long-lasting solutions and sustain stability and peace.
Humanitarian crises result in human rights concerns and exacerbate pre-existing human rights vulnerabilities. If not adequately addressed and corrected, the impact on the people affected can create a spiral of sufferings, injustices and atrocities that aggravate vulnerabilities and humanitarian needs.
Human rights crisis or humanitarian crisis?
While observers most of the time focus on one type of crises and describe a situation as either a human rights crisis or a humanitarian crisis, in many situations around the world, both labels can be true.
Afghanistan is faced with one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. Millions in the country are experiencing misery and hunger amid decades of conflict. The cumulative effects of violent conflict, internal displacement, drought and other natural disasters have drastically increased humanitarian needs throughout the South Asian country. 28.3 million people - two-thirds of the country’s population - require humanitarian assistance this year.
At the same time Afghanistan is in the grips of a large human rights crisis, largely because the de facto authorities – the Taliban – target the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, by excluding them from public and political life, economic activity and education, further exacerbating the humanitarian situation of the female population.
Millions of people in China’s north-western region of Xinjiang are facing one of Asia’s worst human rights crises. According to human rights groups, more than one million people are detained arbitrarily in camps against their will. Hundreds of thousands have been sentenced to prison terms only because they are members of Uyghur ethnic group or other predominantly Muslim communities.
China has been accused of committing severe human rights violations, of committing crimes against humanity and genocide against the Uyghur population, other ethnic groups and religious minorities in Xinjiang. As twelve million Uyghurs fear for their security and the health and well-being of their children and families, it can also be described as a severe humanitarian crisis.
Summary
While there are key differences in purpose, scope, actors and principles humanitarian issues and human rights share a common ground, both are focused on human wellbeing and the plights and needs of individuals or groups of people, both seek to promote human well-being and dignity.
Many international organizations and NGOs are concerned with both humanitarian issues and human rights, but most focus on either a humanitarian or a human rights perspective.
By recognizing similarities and differences, we can better understand how to address global challenges and promote the rights and well-being of all people. Supporting humanitarian action and promoting human rights are two of the most noble missions on this planet.