Balancing Act: Anti-Terror Efforts and Humanitarian Principles

The unintended consequences of counter-terrorism legislation are increasingly hitting humanitarian workers: blocked aid to civilians, muddied international law, and donor governments pushed to impose near-impossible conditions on NGOs. All of which, aid agencies note, makes neutrality more difficult and can criminalise legitimate aid work.

"The whole idea of independent, neutral, and impartial humanitarian action has been hugely jeopardised," Jelena Pejic, senior legal adviser at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told the audience at a panel discussion last month on counter-terrorism laws and the criminalisation of humanitarian action.