Terms of Engagement: Conditions and Conditionality in Humanitarian Action

The conference was convened by the Overseas Development Institute and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue to discuss different views on the ‘Terms of engagement’ between humanitarian and political actors. It was held in Geneva on the 3 and 4 May, 2000. This report aims to give an overview of the various debates, and indicate areas of consensus and of disagreement. As the conference was held under ‘Chatham House rules’ contributions have not been attributed.
The roots of humanitarian crises are political, and, as is commonly pointed out, political problems require political solutions. Humanitarian actors thus must engage with a variety of political actors in the pursuit of humanitarian objectives. On the one hand, humanitarians engage with, usually western, donor governments. And, on the other, humanitarians must necessarily deal with the parties to a particular conflict. The conference aimed to examine and clarify these relationships. In particular it was hoped to clarify and develop consensus on the distinction between the conditions that humanitarian agencies need to work in a principled and effective way, and the growing use of conditionality by donors and agencies, for both humanitarian and political purposes.