Humanitarian space: a review of trends and issues

There appears to be an overwhelming consensus among
humanitarian actors that humanitarian space is contracting.
This is largely attributed to developments since the attacks
on the United States on 11 September 2001, particularly the
use of humanitarian assistance by Western governments to
further political and security objectives. According to this
narrative, the ability of humanitarian actors to provide relief
and protection to affected populations is dramatically in
decline. To arrest this decline, greater respect for the principles
of humanitarian action (especially impartiality, neutrality and
independence) is required.
This HPG Report reviews key trends and issues affecting
humanitarian space over the last decade. In doing so it seeks to
challenge the dominant narrative on the subject. It argues that
the discourse of ‘shrinking’ humanitarian space, to which the
solution is simply greater adherence to principles, is not borne
out by the evidence. It is in fact a myth, based on diverse, narrow
and misunderstood definitions of the concept of humanitarian
space; simplistic historical narratives that obscure the reality
and complexity of the humanitarian endeavour; mistaken
interpretations of the principles of humanitarian action and
their possible outcomes in challenging political and security
environments; and an overwhelming preoccupation with the
role that external actors play in challenging humanitarian
action, at the expense of an introspective analysis of the nature
of the ‘humanitarian system’ itself, and its evolution over time.