•Proposing a novel collaborative humanitarian relief chain design model.•Utilizing information- and resource-sharing as coordination mechanisms.•Developing a Lagrangian relaxation algorithm for ...solving large-scale problems.•Dealing with disruption risks by a scenario-based robust optimization approach.•Presenting a case study to represent the applicability of the proposed model.
Pre- and post-disaster relief operations often involve several humanitarian organizations (HOs) working simultaneously. Balanced and systemic resource-sharing schemes may enable HOs to collaborate effectively and conduct efficient relief operations. In this study, a novel two-stage stochastic model is developed which depends on information- and resource-sharing as coordination mechanisms to ensure proper relief operations while multiple HOs exist in the relief chain. A collaborative humanitarian relief chain (CHRC) consisting of several HOs is designed to make the required decisions on the ways in which relief items are procured, pre-positioned, and distributed pre- and post-disaster. The model is also tweaked to handle potential risks of disruption by an efficient approach. Furthermore, a Lagrangian relaxation algorithm is developed to solve large-scale problems. The performance of the proposed model is tested by being applied to a real-world disaster, namely the 2017 Kermanshah earthquake, in Iran. Several sensitivity analyses are performed to evaluate the applicability of the model and compare the performance of the collaborative decision-making approach proposed in this study to decentralized approaches. Lastly, a number of managerial insights are drawn from the findings.
Purpose This study aims to answer the question: What dynamic capabilities do diverse humanitarian organizations have? Design/methodology/approach We examine this question through the lens of dynamic ...capabilities with sensing, seizing and reconfiguring capacities. The research team interviewed 15 individuals from 12 humanitarian organizations that had (a) different geographic scopes (global versus local) and (b) different missions (emergency response versus long-term development aid). We also gathered data from secondary sources, including standard operating procedures, company websites, and news databases (Factiva, Reuters and Bloomberg). Findings The findings identify the operational and dynamic capabilities of global and local humanitarian organizations while distinguishing between their mission to provide long-term development aid or emergency relief. (1) The global organizations, with their beneficiary responsiveness, reconfigured their sensing and seizing capacities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic by pivoting quickly to local procurement or regional supply chains. The long-term development organizations pivoted to multi-year supplier agreements with fixed pricing to counter price uncertainty and accessed social capital with government bodies. In contrast, emergency response organizations developed end-to-end supply chain visibility to sense changes in supply and demand. (2) Local humanitarian organizations developed the capacity to sense demand and supply changes to reconfigure based on their experiential learning working with the local community. The long-term-development local organizations used un-owned and scalable relief infrastructure to seize opportunities to rebuild affected areas. In contrast, emergency response organizations developed their capacity to seize opportunities to provide aid stemming from their decentralized decision-making, a lack of structured procedures, and the authority for increased expenditure. Originality/value We propose a theoretical framework to identify humanitarian organizations' operational and dynamic capabilities, distinguishing between global and local organizations and their emergency response and long-term aid missions.
Biometric technologies are routinely used in the response to refugee crises with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) aiming to have all refugee data from across the world in a ...central population registry by the end of 2019. The article analyzes biometrics, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain as part of a technological assemblage, which I term the biometric assemblage. The article identifies five intersecting logics that explain wider transformations within the humanitarian sector and in turn shape the biometric assemblage. The acceleration of the rate of biometric registrations in the humanitarian sector between 2002 and 2019 reveals serious concerns regarding bias, data safeguards, data-sharing practices with states and commercial companies, experimentation with untested technologies among vulnerable people, and, finally, ethics. Technological convergence amplifies risks associated with each constituent technology of the biometric assemblage. The article finally argues that the biometric assemblage accentuates asymmetries between refugees and humanitarian agencies and ultimately entrenches inequalities in a global context.
Since the conflict began in 2011, access to civil documentation in Syria has been severely curtailed due to the loss, destruction, and confiscation of documents along with the limited or discontinued ...function of civil registries, particularly in non-government-controlled areas. The rise of de facto authorities and the issuance of their own civil documentation has posed additional challenges, contributing to a pluralistic legal system. The frequency of changes in territorial control in Northwest Syria has meant that an unknown number of actors have issued various forms of documentation - often as a means of asserting their legitimacy and control - leaving Syrians with a myriad of documents with varying levels of acceptance. This humanitarian and policy-orientated piece examines the state of legal identity under the Syrian Salvation Government and Syrian Interim Government in Northwest Syria. Humanitarian organizations face growing challenges in implementing 'Do No Harm' responses where the right to civil documentation could be co-opted for political or other objectives. Additionally, the short, medium, and long-term consequences of possessing or obtaining de facto documentation are impossible to predict when the future for Northwest Syria remains unknown. Against this backdrop, this piece highlights the importance of examining this issue from the perspectives of affected civil populations and identifying how humanitarian actors can best provide assistance and guidance in a principled and protection-focused approach.
Abstract
The United Nations targeted sanctions against terrorist organizations are administrated under the Security Council Consolidated List. Apart from listing terrorist organizations and ...individuals that are linked to Al-Qaida, ISIL, and the Taliban, the list also includes non-terrorist entities that allegedly support listed organizations. This paper studies 7 businesses and 22 humanitarian organizations that are currently listed, resulting in two insights. First, listing these entities effectively pushes them out of business by rendering them illegal. Even when entities succeed in getting delisted, the damage is already done. Ironically, the impact on non-terrorist entities is bigger than on some terrorist organizations, who carry their listing as a badge of honor to attract recruits. Second, by comparing the UNSC consolidated list to related Interpol’s Special Notices, we find that there are several inconsistencies between the lists, both in terms of the details provided and the updating of unlisted entities.
Introduction: promoting restraint in war McQuinn, Brian; Terry, Fiona; Kaplan, Oliver ...
International interactions,
09/2021, Letnik:
47, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Over the last decade, changes in the nature of conflict have generated profound operational challenges for international humanitarian organizations. The number of non-international armed conflicts ...doubled between 2001 and 2016, rising from fewer than 30 to more than 70. The number of armed groups fighting in them has also multiplied: more armed groups emerged in the last decade than in the previous century. Humanitarian organizations struggle to assist victims of these armed conflicts and to persuade fighters to act with restraint toward those individuals who are not, or no longer, taking part in hostilities. New research was required to identify sources of influence on battlefield restraint to inform operational activities. We present a theoretical framework that identifies the sources of norms of restraint in state and non-state armed groups. We argue that humanitarian organizations ought to broaden their notions of the processes that influence the socialization and uptake of norms of restraint and mobilize new societal actors to the cause of limiting violence. In our framing of the empirical articles in the collection, we argue that the structure of armed organizations and their embeddedness in local communities heavily influence how group norms and internal rules are formed and reinforced. While hierarchical militaries can largely be influenced by top-down discipline, restraint among more decentralized armed groups is strongly influenced by societal actors external to the group.
Collaborative engagement between international and local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) has recently been promoted as an effective strategy to enhance internal process strengths but less as a ...strategy to localize humanitarian aid programs; a grand strategy that aims to strengthen local capacity, develop local capabilities, and boost regional humanitarian project performance. While stakeholders deem to play an important role in leveraging the efficiencies of such collaborative engagements between international and local actors, there is limited empirical knowledge about how stakeholder pressure affects the association between the collaboration–performance association within international and local NGOs. Drawing on stakeholder theory, we propose a model to examine the role of donors, media, and governments, three major stakeholders noteworthy because of their power and legitimacy to moderate the collaboration–performance association in this NGO context. We test our hypotheses across a series of samples collected at both international and local NGOs in 2015 and 2020. From a practical perspective, we discuss how the traditional role of NGOs as implementers of aid programs is shifting toward a new role as conveners and capability builders.
Emergency food aid is the most essential response of the international community to natural disasters and complex emergencies. The humanitarian aid organizations sometimes have been encountered with ...different challenges during the feeding process to target groups.
The aim of this article is to review the food aid challenges in receiving countries of humanitarian food assistance during disasters and emergencies.
This systematic review was conducted in August 2019, and the search was limited to published evidence before July 1, 2019. Through this systematic review, the international electronic databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, and Google Scholar were investigated for the studies published in English. The articles were assessed based on title, abstract, and full text by Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools. Then, descriptive and thematic analyses were done to extract the most relevant food challenges in recipient countries of humanitarian food assistance.
A total of 179 studies were found. Of which, 34 and 118 were excluded because of duplication and quality appraisal, respectively. Finally, 27 eligible articles and reports were included in this study, and 30 main challenges were determined during the international humanitarian food assistance in receiving countries. The challenges were categorized in seven main category of availability (two subcategories), access (six subcategories), utilization (three subcategories), coordination and collaboration (eight subcategories), political and legal issues (three subcategories), monitoring and assessment (six subcategories), and human rights (two subcategories).
The most repeated challenges were related to access and monitoring. Most of the extracted food aid challenges allocated to time after occurring the disasters. Regarding to the result of this study, further research should be conducted to suggest the practical approaches for solving the mentioned challenges and increase the effectiveness of such aids.
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