The United States is by far the world’s largest provider of foreign aid, but it is completely unclear whether and how this will continue. Trump speaks of quickly achieving peace but at the same time he threatens neighboring countries. One thing is certain, however: Trump will not prioritize climate issues. Much attention has been given... Read more ..read more

Technology is radically changing the work and role of scholars and the function of academic publishing. Fake and fabricated content (data, facts, arguments, claims, conclusions) undermines the foundations of knowledge in a democratic society. Faking publications and citations undermine the way we as a community of knowledge producers have organized ourselves and make sense of... Read more ..read more

On 4 November, the Israeli Foreign Ministry cancelled the agreement the country signed with UNRWA in 1967. A week earlier, the Knesset had passed legislation banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Why is Israel doing this, and what could the consequences be? UNRWA a free target After Hamas’ terror attack... Read more ..read more

This blog provides reflections on the study and practice of humanitarian negotiation, delving into ethical considerations such as power, representation, compromise, competition and tacit aspects of negotiation. People have probably always held humanitarian negotiations in human history as they have asked and argued for the right to help people in war, disaster and epidemics. In... Read more ..read more

This blog provides reflections from both humanitarian practitioners and researchers on the ethical dilemmas associated with humanitarian negotiations and how humanitarian organisations respond to them. The blog post includes the following contributions: Ethical dilemmas in humanitarian negotiations, by Kristoffer Lidén and Kristina Roepstorff Challenges to neutrality and impartiality, and their value, by Jérôme Grimaud No... Read more ..read more

This blog provides reflections from both humanitarian practitioners and researchers on the ethical dilemmas associated with humanitarian negotiations and how humanitarian organisations respond to them. The blog post includes the following contributions: Ethical dilemmas in humanitarian negotiations, by Kristoffer Lidén and Kristina Roepstorff Challenges to neutrality and impartiality, and their value, by Jérôme Grimaud No... Read more ..read more

Forced displacement places increased pressure on host communities. Refugees are often hosted in resource-scarce areas with high unemployment and poverty. Local, national and international collaboration is therefore crucial to mitigate social conflict and prevent instability from traveling with those fleeing war. Uganda, with its progressive refugee policies, is often presented as a success story in the world... Read more ..read more

Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert explores the pitfalls and potentials of the use of AI to provide windows into humanitarian crises and human rights abuses. From the photo exhibition launched by the Australian law firm Maurice Blackburn. AI-generated images have already been used by charities and human rights organizations to illustrate mass suffering and abuse. A lot is potentially at stake as we become exposed to more of these types of images, including public trust in what is real, and ultimately our ability to engage. A debate was sparked when Amnesty International deliberately used images ma ..read more

The war in Gaza is the most deadly in modern times for journalists and UN personnel. Despite the seriousness of the situation, these killings are under-reported. Funeral of Al-Quds TV journalist Cebr Abu Hedrus’, who died in Israeli attacks in Gaza. December 30, 2023. Photo: Doaa Albaz/Anadolu via Getty Images The war in Gaza is an exceptionally gruesome conflict, as shown by all the relevant statistics. Since Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) attacked and killed approximately 1,200 Israelis on 7 October 2023, Israel has killed over 28,000 Palestinians. Seventy percent of the Pales ..read more

While humanitarians remain sceptical of legal regulation, litigation, and lawyers, the sector is going through a process of juridification. This blog post takes stock of the ambivalence to law and emergent shifts in the sector and calls for international law scholars to pay more attention. Illustration: Getty images ‘We have a toxic relationship with the law’ the aid worker at the end of the table exclaimed. It was mid-January 2024, and we were seated in a meeting room at the European Convention Center in Luxembourg. A large group of humanitarians from the Red Cross family, INGOs like MSF ..read more