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Hugo Slim’s delves into the origins of contemporary humanitarianism, recounting its journey through the 18th and 19th centuries, when a mutual sense of humanity and a shared moral community were embraced. 

He highlights the milestones of this historical road towards humanitarianism: the recognition of wounded soldiers and prisoners of war, the attention that arose to non-combatant civilians and refugees, followed by the invention of human rights, IHL, and the humanitarian principles. He celebrates the sector’s growth, its ability to save lives, and the knowledge it has accumulated about suffering and need, whilst also acknowledging the sector’s criticisms.

Furthermore, Slim addresses the current challenges and opportunities for the humanitarian sector, describing it as being at a pivotal crossroads. He notes the increasing perception of humanitarian organisations as overly bureaucratic and questioned their legitimacy. Issues such as dependency on funding from Western governments and the growing competition from businesses addressing global poverty are also raised. He explains that the metaphor of a “crossroads” represents the critical decisions the humanitarian sector must make, offering three potential paths for its future, which are:

1. The War Road: A return to the roots of war-focused humanitarianism was suggested. This path would involve organisations specialising in conflict response, prioritising safety, legal frameworks, and neutral or non-neutral approaches to crisis.
2. The Climate Road: Slim describes this as a transformative approach, urging humanitarians to adopt a broader, earth-focused mission and prioritise climate emergencies over wars. He emphasizes the importance of viewing humanity as part of a larger ecological system and argues for the integration of environmental sustainability into humanitarian work, in the form of an all-life humanitarian approach.
3. The Unknown Road: This is presented as an open-ended path, inviting creativity and innovative ideas. Potential directions include focusing on migration and mobility, strengthening regional responses in Europe, or developing partnerships in a multipolar world.

Throughout his speech, Slim urges the sector to seize this moment of reflection and reorganisation, encouraging (I)NGOs to focus on their core strengths, enhance local capacities and cost-effectiveness, and remain committed to liberal humanitarian values. He concludes by reinforcing the idea that the crossroads is not a new phenomenon for the sector but a recurring point of decision-making, always intersecting with new challenges and opportunities.

In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds.

This fifth dialogue focusses on the role of the donor with regards to the decolonisation of aid with Smruti Patel (Founder & Director Global Mentoring Initiative and Founder and Member of Alliance for Empowering Partnership) and Dirk-Jan Koch (Professor International Trade & Development Cooperation at Radboud University Nijmegen)

The webinar is moderated by Kiza Magendane (The Broker).

In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds.

This podcast is the recording of the opening statements of Smruti Patel (Founder & Director Global Mentoring Initiative and Founder and Member of Alliance for Empowering Partnership) and Dirk-Jan Koch (Professor International Trade & Development Cooperation at Radboud University Nijmegen).

The full webinar with Patel and Koch is available under the title Decolonisation of aid: Dialogue #5 – The role of the donor (October 2021).

In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds.

This podcast is the recording of the opening statements of Aarathi Krishnan (Strategic Foresight Advisor at UNDP) and Hugo Slim (Senior Research Fellow at University of Oxford).

The full webinar with Krishnan and Slim is available under the title Decolonisation of aid: Dialogue #4 - an ethical perspective (September 2021).

In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds.

This fourth dialogue focusses on ethical and moral perspectives related to the decolonisation of aid with Aarathi Krishnan (Strategic Foresight Advisor at UNDP) and Hugo Slim (Senior Research Fellow at University of Oxford).

The webinar is moderated by Kiza Magendane (The Broker).

The International Humanitarian Studies Association (IHSA) recently published a special issue of International Migration journal, based on contributions to their conference in The Hague (2018). On the 9th of September IHSA and KUNO organized a webinar in which key findings of a special issue of the International Migration Journal on 'Politics, humanitarianism and migration to Europe' were presented.

When some one million people crossed the Mediterranean in the course of 2015 to seek refuge, European countries called it a crisis. Yet the real crisis was created by European immigration and asylum policies and by the challenges they posed for aid providers. The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the violence experienced by people seeking safety in countries such as Italy, Greece, France, Belgium, Germany, Norway, and the UK.

Policies such as strengthening border controls, the externalisation of borders, and a focus on smuggling and trafficking rather than on the causes of forced migration all result in humanitarian crisis. The new reality affects humanitarian organizations, including the criminalisation of assistance provision, as well as the rise in resistance and activism by newly created volunteer groups.

Speakers: prof. Thea Hilhorst, dr. Susanne Jaspars, Marte Welander, Francesca Pusterla, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, and Adil Izemrane.

In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds.

 This podcast is the recording of the ‘superb’ (as indicated on Twitter) opening statement of Tammam Aloudat (Director Global Health Centre).

Aloudat: 'Decolonisation could be an entire divorce of the idea that someone has a real idea of what is better for the other'.

 The full webinar with Aloudat is available under the title Decolonisation of aid: Dialogue #3 - a humanitarian aid perspective.

In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds.

This third dialogue focusses on the perspective from humanitarian aid with Nanette Antequisa (director ECOWEB and active member of A4EP) and Tammam Aloudat (Director Global Health Centre).

The webinar is moderated by Kiza Magendane (The Brooker) and Thea Hilhorst (International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University).

In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds.

 This scond dialogue focusses on the perspective from development cooperation with Tulika Srivastava (Director Women’s Fund Asia) and Lydia Zigomo (Global Programmes Director at Oxfam International).

The webinar is moderated by Kiza Magendane (The Brooker) and Thea Hilhorst (International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University).

In the webinars 'The decolonization of aid' KUNO, Partos, and The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) take one step back and approach the discussion on the decolonization of aid in a series of talks. Step by step, we highlight an aspect of this debate. We ask two experts to engage in a conversation with one another to explore the controversies and perhaps find some common grounds.

This first dialogue focusses on a historical perspective with Arua Oko Omaka (fellow at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Nigeria) and Bertrand Taithe (professor History of Humanitarian Aid Manchester University, UK).

The webinar is moderated by Kiza Magendane (The Broker) and Thea Hilhorst (International Institute of Social Studies).

De Covid-19-crisis is een ongekende uitdaging voor de wereld. Het zal zeker ook het ​​werk van internationale noodhulp veranderen. Deze ontwikkelingen komen aan de orde in het Covid Café, een initiatief van Oxfam Novib en KUNO. 

In deze aflevering van het KUNO Covid Café vertellen Michiel Servaes (directeur van Oxfam Novib) en Tineke Ceelen (directeur van Stichting Vluchteling en voorzitter van KUNO) hoe Covid hun werk in de humanitaire sector verandert. Het gesprek wordt gefaciliteerd door Peter Heintze, coördinator van KUNO. 

Hier vind je andere podcasts van KUNO: https://www.kuno-platform.nl/themes/podcasts/ 

Meer informatie over Oxfam Novib kun je vinden op hun website: https://www.oxfamnovib.nl/

Supporting the detained populations in Greece and Libya is the most – or at least one of the most - urgent and most complex humanitarian challenges of this time. The refugees and migrants that got stuck on their way to Europe, live in malicious camps and seek to survive under very harsh conditions.

Researcher and well-experienced humanitarian practitioner Jason Phillips was asked by IRC, the International Rescue Committee, to take stock of the experiences of humanitarian practitioners, who have been working in these detention centers in Greece and Libya over the last four years. In December 2019 he presented his paper ‘Working with Detained Populations in Greece and Libya: A Comparative Study of the Ethical Challenges Facing The International Rescue Committee’ for KUNO in The Hague.

The world is changing fast. Humanitarian needs grow, due to political developments and climate change; the nature of crises is becoming more complex and protracted; and new players are demanding a role within the humanitarian playing field. What are the implications of this for Western INGOs? What are challenges and what could be the added value of Western INGOs in about ten years?

To inspire Dutch humanitarian CEOs at the start of a day of strategic decision making, KUNO asked Heba Aly to stir up their minds at the opening session of the Dutch Relief Alliance (DRA).

Hebe Aly is director of The New Humanitarian (formerly IRIN News), the independent non-profit news organisation focussing on humanitarian issues.

The first and foremost goal of humanitarian aid is to save lives. But what if humanitarian action unintentionally lengthens the duration or becomes part of a conflict?

During this edition of Humanitarian Hot Topics humanitarian experts discuss unintended consequences of humanitarian aid in South Sudan. This episode follows on the introduction by Jok Madut Jok and further debate with Bram Jansen and Akke Boere (part 1). 

Speakers:

Jok Madut Jok: executive director of the Sudd Institute, a public policy research centre based in South Sudan, and professor of anthropology at the University of Juba in South Sudan.

Akke Boere: Operational Manager Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Amsterdam.

Bram Jansen: assistant professor at Wageningen University and Research. Main topics: refugees and forced migration, protracted refugee situations, and humanitarian aid.

Peter Heintze, coordinator of KUNO, is the moderator of the discussions.

This podcast is based on the recordings of a public debate organized by KUNO and Humanity House. 

The first and foremost goal of humanitarian aid is to save lives. But what if humanitarian action unintentionally lengthens the duration or becomes part of a conflict?

During this edition of Humanitarian Hot Topics, Jok Madut Jok of the South Sudanese think tank Sudd Institute, will give an introduction addressing the unintended consequences of humanitarian aid in South Sudan. His keynote speech is followed by a discussion between him and speakers from the humanitarian sector.

Speakers:

Jok Madut Jok: executive director of the Sudd Institute, a public policy research centre based in South Sudan, and professor of anthropology at the University of Juba in South Sudan.

Akke Boere: Operational Manager Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Amsterdam.

Bram Jansen: assistant professor at Wageningen University and Research. Main topics: refugees and forced migration, protracted refugee situations, and humanitarian aid.

Peter Heintze, coordinator of KUNO, is the moderator of the discussions.

This podcast is based on the recordings of a public debate organized by KUNO and Humanity House.

The humanitarian sector promised to put local organizations at the heart of humanitarian action. The Grand Bargain presented commitments for local leadership under the frame Localization; these commitments should provide local organisations the means and opportunities to take over control. So far, actual transformation seems to be limited.

However, after the tsunami in Sulawesi in 2018, the Indonesian government took control of the access of international aid organisations to the affected areas. A remarkable example of local leadership. 

This podcast is based on the recordings of a public debate with humanitarian experts reflecting upon the Sulawesi response and the relationship and interaction between local and international aid organisations.

Speakers:

Jemilah Mahmood, Under Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). She was founder of MERCY Malaysia and worked as the chief of the World Humanitarian Summit secretariat at the United Nations in New York.

Christine Pirenne, Head of the Department for Humanitarian Affairs at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Saskia Harmsen, works for the Global Team of Oxfam International on Localization.

Moderator is Roanne van Voorst, researcher at the International Institute of Social Studies (Erasmus University Rotterdam).

The humanitarian sector promised to put local organizations at the heart of humanitarian action. The Grand Bargain presented commitments for local leadership under the frame Localization; these commitments should provide local organisations the means and opportunities to take over control. So far, actual transformation seems to be limited.

However, after the tsunami in Sulawesi in 2018, the Indonesian government took control of the access of international aid organisations to the affected areas. A remarkable example of local leadership. 

This podcast is based on the recordings of a public debate with the humanitarian expert Jemilah Mahmood (IFRC), reflecting upon the Sulawesi response and the relationship and interaction between local and international aid organisations.

Jemilah Mahmood is Under Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). She is founder of MERCY Malaysia and worked as the chief of the World Humanitarian Summit secretariat at the United Nations in New York.

The interviewer is Roanne van Voorst, researcher at the International Institute of Social Studies (Erasmus University Rotterdam).

An appealing, thoughtful and compact introduction into humanitarian ethics by Hugo Slim based on a Master Class organized by KUNO (the Platform for Humanitarian Knowledge Exchange in the Netherlands), and the Netherlands Red Cross (The Hague, January 2019).

Dr. Hugo Slim is author of the book Humanitarian Ethics. A guide to morality of aid in war and disaster (2015). Slim has a combined career in the academic world and in humanitarian practice, and did work - amongst others - for Save the Children, United Nations, the University of Oxford. Nowadays Hugo Slim is Head of Policy of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

According to John Dalhuisen, Senior Fellow at European Stability Initiative and former director of Amnesty International, humanitarian organizations should compromise on their ethical and moral standards, when it comes to migration. To not lose the battle from populists and extreme right winged, they have to search for a migration politics that is supported by a majority of the European citizens. 

Podcast Part 2 is a reflection of the public debate in Humanity House (The Hague) in October 2018 between and representatives of humanitarian organizations (28 minutes). The debate followed on an introduction speech of John Dalhuisen.

Dalhuijsen used the European migration crisis of 2015/2016 as a case study and elaborates on the arguments for and against the EU-Turkey Deal of March 2016. 

In the podcast you will hear:
= John Dalhuisen, Senior Fellow at European Stability Initiative. During the European migration crisis (2015/2016) Dalhuijsen was director of Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia Programme and Regional Office. 
= Arjan Hehenkamp, deputy director St. Vluchteling. During the migration crisis Arjan Hehenkamp was Director of Artsen zonder Grenzen (MSF the Netherlands) and well involved in save & rescue operation on the Mediterranean Sea. 
= Evelien van Roemburg, is the Europe Migration Campaign manager for Oxfam International. She leads the advocacy and campaign development and delivery of Oxfam’s humanitarian refugee response in Europe.

According to John Dalhuisen, Senior Fellow at European Stability Initiative and former director of Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia Programme, humanitarian organizations should compromise on their ethical and moral standards, when it comes to migration. To not lose the battle from populists and extreme right winged, they have to search for a migration politics that is supported by a majority of the European citizens. 

Podcast Part 1 reflects the introduction speech of John Dalhuijsen (35 minutes), before a debate with John Dalhuijsen and representatives of humanitarian organizations. 

Dalhuijsen used the European migration crisis of 2015/2016 as a case study and elaborates on the arguments for and against the EU-Turkey Deal of March 2016. 

Presentation of the Scoping Study to an International Ombuds for Humanitarian and Development Aid, November 21, 2018 (The Hague).

This Ombuds could be a way of preventing (sexual) abuse by humanitarian professionals during humanitarian interventions or a way to assist victims of abuse in humanitarian settings.

The study was performed by prof. Dorothea Hilhorst, Asmita Naik and Andrew Cunningham,
The study was commissioned the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Speakers: Thea Hilhorst (ISS), Asmita Naik, Reintje van Haeringen (CARE Nederland), Marinus Verweij (ICCO-Kerk in Actie), Bart Romijn (Partos), Doris Voorbraak (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
Presentation: Peter Heintze (KUNO).

Three years of conflict and lawlessness in Yemen brought the Yemeni hunger, diphtheria and cholera. Nearly three of four Yemenis rely on humanitarian aid to survive. The dire situation is deteriorating every day. In March 2018, the UN Security Council made a strong plea for humanitarian access: Humanitarian support and peace must take the place of destruction. 

 Four representatives of NGOs from Yemen, who visited a pledging conference in Geneva (April 2018), also visited Brussels and other European capitals to share their story with politicians and policy makers. During their tour, facilitated by Oxfam, they made time for a small expert meeting for KUNO, the platform for humanitarian knowledge exchange in the Netherlands. 

 Speakers: Nabil Al-Kumain, Yemen Family Care Association; Tameem Abdulraqeep, Wedyan Association for Society Development; Layla Al-faqeeh, Generations Without Qat; Safa Murad Rafiq, TOBE Foundation for Rights and Freedoms. 

 For more information about KUNO, the platform for humanitarian knowledge exchange in the Netherlands, please visit: https://www.kuno-platform.nl/ 

In February 2018, prof. Alex de Waal presented his new book “Mass Starvation” that provides an authoritative history of modern famines: their causes, dimensions and why they ended. He analyses starvation as a crime, and breaks new ground in examining forced starvation as an instrument of genocide and war. 

 Alex de Waal is a world-renowned expert on humanitarian crisis and response, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation and professor at The Fletcher School, Tufts University. For more information see: http://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/mass-starvation/ . 

 For more information about KUNO, the platform for humanitarian knowledge exchange in the Netherlands, please visit: https://www.kuno-platform.nl/ 

At the request of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), the UK-based platform for mobilising funding at times of major international humanitarian crises, Ed Schenkenberg of HERE-Geneva visited Bangladesh in January 2018. HERE reviewed the humanitarian response to the Rohingya refugees. The preliminary findings and emerging conclusions are reason for alarm. Few of the lessons that arose out of the 1994 response to the Rwandan refugees in Goma, then Zaire, seem to have been applied in this response from the start of the crisis in August 2017, while the situation is comparable to the one in Goma in terms of size, scale, and speed by which it has evolved. 

 On 20 February 2018, Ed Schenkenberg shared the main findings of the real-time review with organisations and other stakeholders (including DRA, MoFA, Red Cross, Unicef, MSF) in the Netherlands. Zia Choudhury, Country Director Bangladesh of CARE attended the meeting to share his reflections on the findings of HERE Geneva. 

 For more information about KUNO, the platform for humanitarian knowledge exchange in the Netherlands, please visit: https://www.kuno-platform.nl/