The 'Bilateralisation' of Humanitarian Response: Trends in the Financial, Contractual and Managerial Environment of Official Humanitarian Aid.

This paper describes the phenomenon of the ‘bilateralisation’ of humanitarian response, and assesses its implications for UNHCR. It draws on a review of documentation from UNHCR and a series of interviews with a number of UNHCR staff. This research has both informed and been informed by a larger study by the Overseas Development Institute, which will report in Autumn/Winter 2002.

 

The remainder of this report is divided into four sections. Section 2 reviews the definition, origins and implications of the ‘bilateralisation’ of humanitarian response. Section 3 looks at the trend towards the bilateralisation of humanitarian aid spending. Section 4 examines the evolution of donors’ strategies for contracting their operational partners and for managing these contracts. Section 5 concludes the paper with an analysis of the implications for UNHCR.