C/P/32. Morals dilemmas of humanitarian aid

The essay considers whether humanitarian aid may exacerbate conflict and thereby worsen condition of suffering it intended to alleviate. The author concludes that aid does tend to contribute to conflict in several ways: when aid falls into hands of warring factions, through theft or looting, when aid workers inadvertently feed or house militants under the guise of 'refugees', when aid allows combatants to focus their efforts on military operations and ignore the needs of the civilian population, and when relief agencies bestow legitimacy to perpetrators of conflict. The essay outlines a number of ways, by which these deficiencies of humanitarian aid may be addressed, but concludes that whether or not aid does more harm than good ultimately depends on the professionalism of aid workers, and on the particular circumstances of a conflict situation.