Violence and humanitarian action in urban areas: new challenges, new approaches

A number of states are faced with the challenge of ensuring the harmonious development
of rapidly expanding cities and of offering a growing population public services worthy
of the name in the fields of security, health, and education. That challenge is even more
difficult and more pressing because violence may erupt (hunger riots, clashes between
territorial gangs or ethnic communities, acts of xenophobic violence directed against
migrants, and so on) – violence that does not generally escalate to the point of becoming
an armed conflict but that is murderous nevertheless.
On the basis of the experience of the International Committee of the
Red Cross and of its partners, as well as reports by academic specialists, this article
describes the vulnerability of the poorest and of migrants in urban areas. It presents the
difficulties with which humanitarian organizations, which are often accustomed to
working in rural areas, have to contend. Lastly, it describes innovative responses, from
which much can be learned: income-generating micro-projects, aid in the form of
cash or vouchers, urban agriculture, and the establishment of violence-prevention
or health-promotion programmes to protect those affected by armed violence in
disadvantaged areas.