Abstract
Actors in the humanitarian sector often find themselves torn between their prime objective of alleviating suffering through realizing the humanitarian imperative and the broader agenda of addressing structural injustices to prevent new crises. The trade-off between getting access and securing rights is a constant source of debate among aid providers. This article uses the example of Norwegian humanitarian aid to Myanmar to illustrate how rights are defined and understood differently among various aid providers, and how different political objectives, competing theories of change, and shifting priorities among donors influence the response of these aid providers in humanitarian crises and their operationalization of a rights-based approach. The article concludes that these competing approaches and theories of change have contributed—in practice, and unintentionally—to a division of labor where the need for humanitarian access has been reasonably balanced with a continued push for rights and political change.
Résumé
Dans le secteur humanitaire, souvent les acteurs se retrouvent déchires entre leur objectif primaire - c’est-à-dire soulager la souffrance à travers la réalisation de l’impératif humanitaire - et l’agenda plus large - qui adresse les injustices structurelles pour prévenir des nouvelles crises. Le compromis entre obtenir l’accès, et sécuriser les droits, est une source constante de discussion parmi les prestataires d’aide. Cet article utilise l’exemple de l’aide humanitaire Norvégien au Myanmar pour illustrer comme les droits sont définis et compris différemment par les divers prestataires d’aide, et comment les différents objectifs politiques, la compétition entre plusieurs théories du changement, et l’évolution des priorités parmi les donneurs, influencent les réponses de ces prestataires d’aide au sein des crises humanitaires et leur opérationnalisation d’une approche axée sur les droits. Cet article conclut que ces approches concurrentielles, et la théorie du changement, ont contribues (de façon pratique et involontaire) a une division du travail là où le besoin d’accès humanitaire a été raisonnablement équilibré avec une poursuite persistante des droits et de changement politique.
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Notes
The budget post-Good Governance was part of the portfolio of humanitarian aid in this period and is therefore included in the numbers.
Norwegian diplomat, Yangon (26.10.2017).
Former NPA representative, Yangon (12.01.2017).
Former NPA representative, Yangon (12.01.2017).
NPA representative, Oslo (09.12.2016).
Former NPA representative, Oslo (21.11.2016).
Former NPA representative, Oslo (07.12.2016).
NCA representative, Oslo (23.11.2016).
Former NRC representative, Yangon (18.01.2017).
NCA partner, Yangon (17.01.2017); NPA partner, Yangon (10.01.2017).
NRC representative, Oslo (07.12.2016).
Former NPA representative, Oslo (21.11.2016).
Current and former NPA representatives, Oslo (21.11.2016; 07.12.2016; 09.12.2016).
NCA representatives and partners, Oslo (23.11.2016; 19.12.2016), Yangon (18.01.2017), Mae Sot (15.02.2017).
NCA representative, Oslo (23.11.2016).
Ethnic community leader, Mae Sot (14.02.2017).
Focus group discussions with refugee communities, Mae La (15.02.2017).
NCA partners, Yangon (18.01.2017), Mae Sot (15.02.2017).
Former NRC representative, Yangon (18.01.2017).
Focus group discussion with former IDP communities, Ker Deh (14.01.2017).
NPA representative, Oslo (09.12.2016).
Former NPA representative, Yangon (12.01.2017).
CIDKP representative, Ker Deh (14.01.2017).
CIDKP representative, Ker Deh (14.01.2017).
Former consultant to the Norwegian MFA, Yangon (06.01.2017).
Former NPA representative, Yangon (12.01.2017).
Former NPA representative, Yangon (12.01.2017).
Former NPA representative, Yangon (12.01.2017).
Former consultant to the Norwegian MFA, Ker Deh (14.01.2017).
Former NPA representative, Yangon (12.01.2017).
Former NRC representative, Yangon (18.01.2017).
Former NRC representative, Yangon (18.01.2017).
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This study was funded by Research Council of Norway (NORGLOBAL, AIDEFFECT).
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Nilsen, M. Perceptions of Rights and the Politics of Humanitarian Aid in Myanmar. Eur J Dev Res 32, 338–358 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-020-00265-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-020-00265-0