The humanitarian enterprise currently finds itself at a crossroads. At the tail end of armed international engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is increasingly also faced with new types of emergencies related to climate change, urbanization, and shifting geopolitical dynamics. What is the future of the humanitarian system in light of these challenges? This is the most basic research question that occupies us. Answering it requires investigations into humanitarianism's current character, how it is changing, and how it ought to change.
On Tuesday, 8 March, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi visited PRIO to participate in a panel discussion. The topic of discussion was how we best respond to global displacement.
The Red Lines and Grey Zones project has been officially launched with a kick-off meeting on the 1st of March. Please find an introduction to the project presented by Kristoffer Lidén above.
What is the current status of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)? What are its main challenges? What types of scenarios can we envision for UNRWA's future?
These were some of the questions discussed today when the PRIO Middle East Centre and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a roundtable with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
The new book Citizen Humanitarianism at European Borders, edited by Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert and Elisa Pascucci explores the emerging trend of citizen-led forms of aid at the borders of Europe, in a time of escalating conflict between states and NGOs engaged in migrant search and rescue operations across the Mediterranean.
In a MidEast Policy Brief, Research Professor Pavel Baev writes about the future of UN humanitarian aid to Syria, following the UN Security Council adoption of Resolution 2585 on 9 July 2021. Even though the resolution might appear to be a recycle of the compromise reached at the Security Council in 2020, it is different in many important aspects and will be tested again in 2022, argues Baev.
The project "Red Lines and Grey Zones: Exploring the Ethics of Humanitarian Negotiation" has received funding from the Research Council of Norway. Starting from consultations with humanitarian practitioners, the project will map problems related to the ethics of negotiation and cross examine these challenges through cases from Syria, Bangladesh, Colombia, Nepal, the Mediterranean and the UN Security Council.
The UN Security Council is to decide on cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria by July 10. In his new blog post ahead of the decision on the controversial issue, Research Professor Pavel Baev looks at how the context of the problem facing the Council has changed from Moscow's perspective since it was last on the table in spring-summer 2020. Baev argues that there are good reasons to assume that Russia is maneuvering toward a compromise supporting the extension of Resolution 2533.
The Norwegian Centre for Humanitarian Studies (NCHS) has been a joint collaboration between CMI, NUPI and PRIO since its establishment in 2012. The leadership and administration of NCHS rotates between the institutes, and after having been led from PRIO since 2012, it is now going to CMI for the next four-year period.
Antonio De Lauri (Research Professor at CMI) becomes the NCHS Director in the period 2021-2024 and Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert (PRIO) will be the NCHS Co-Director in the same period, alongside Stein Sundstøl Eriksen (NUPI) continuing in his role as Co-Director. Emily Hume (CMI) will take over from Andrea Silkoset (PRIO) as NCHS coordinator.
Muslim humanitarian actors are increasingly recognized as important contributors in humanitarian and development efforts. In order to take the global partnership for development seriously, it is vital to understand this rapidly changing humanitarian landscape and how the whole range of humanitarian actors are working.
The new project, The Power of Ideas: Muslim Humanitarians and the SDGs (HUMA), will address this challenge. The project has today received 3 year funding from the NORGLOBAL Programme of the Research Council of Norway.
Congratulations to project leader Kaja Borchgrevink and her project colleague at PRIO, Marta Bivand Erdal!
Journal Article in Cooperation and Conflict
Popular Article in RLI Blog on Refugee Law and Forced Migration
Popular Article in ISS blog on Global Development and Social Justice
Journal Article in The International Journal of Human Rights
Report - Other
Journal Article in Disasters
Edited Volume
Book Chapter in Citizen Humanitarianism at European Borders
Book Chapter in Citizen Humanitarianism at European Borders
Book Chapter in Masks of Authoritarianism: Hegemony, Power and Public Life in Bangladesh
Kaja Borchgrevink
Senior Researcher