Humanitarian Aid
Humanitarian aid is designed to help people in dire need as a result of natural disasters, epidemics, armed conflict or internal unrest.
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Situation in Haiti after the earthquake in early 2010
(© picture-alliance/ empics)
The German Government funds appropriate relief projects run by UN humanitarian organisations, German NGOs and organisations of the Red Cross/ Crescent Movement. The Federal Foreign Office is the lead ministry for this task.
The Government’s key principle here is that humanitarian aid must be geared to the requirements of the emergency and nothing else. The German Government is committed here to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.
Human, neutral, impartial and independent
The principle of humanity means human suffering must be alleviated wherever it occurs. Attention focuses particularly on the most vulnerable population groups. The dignity of all victims must be preserved and protected.
Neutrality means that humanitarian aid is conducted without giving preferential treatment to either side in an armed conflict or other controversies.
Impartiality means that humanitarian aid is granted purely based on need – without discriminating between population groups.
The principle of independence means that humanitarian goals must not be subordinate to political, economic, military or other aims. The sole purpose of humanitarian aid must be to prevent or alleviate the suffering of victims of humanitarian crises.
Relief and prevention
The Federal Foreign Office funds humanitarian emergency aid, in particular help for refugees and internally displaced persons. It also promotes disaster reduction measures which can help minimize the impact of natural disasters, alleviate human suffering and reduce material damage.
In contrast, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development provides more development-oriented emergency and transitional aid, the type of assistance that follows on from emergency aid to deal with humanitarian crises. This is designed to bridge the gap until longer-term development cooperation begins or to pave the way for such cooperation.
Where do we help?
Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Somalia - these are some of the focal points where the Federal Foreign Office funds humanitarian emergency and disaster aid. Medical supplies, food security and provision of drinking water are on top of the agenda.
Humanitarian aid in the United Nations system
Natural disasters and armed conflicts have led to a constant increase in recent years in the number of people worldwide who are dependent on humanitarian aid.
Humanitarian mine and ordnance clearance
In most of the countries involved landmines were planted indiscriminately and without reliable maps of the minefields. This means that detecting and removing landmines is not only expensive and time-consuming, but also leads to many social problems which place a heavy burden on the countries' mostly fragile societies: The landmines, often buried for decades, not only kill people but in many cases stretch health systems and family structures to breaking point in the areas concerned. Landmine contamination also makes it difficult to reconstruct destroyed infrastructure and to use agricultural land.
