Paper details

Paper authors	Junli Lim
In panel on	Protecting civilians in a changing world order
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

The recent debut of the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has shone the limelight again on the use and role of Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs). The U.N. and other humanitarian organisations have been quick to point out that the use of PMSCs—in this instance, by GHF— to plan, coordinate, and execute the distribution aid in Gaza not only carries major risks of furthering war crimes and crimes against humanity among other serious violations of international law, but also breaches fundamental humanitarian principles. Yet, the legitimacy of humanitarian principles—humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence—in practice has oftentimes been called into question. This paper explores the role of PMSCs in humanitarian action, while also examining the use and implementation of humanitarian principles in the protection of civilians. It argues that while humanitarian principles should and must form the foundation of humanitarian action, a central problem to both PMSCs and existing humanitarian principles as adopted by the U.N. is the lack of accountability as a core principle. The issue is further problematised within the context of market-based solutions to humanitarian concerns, and recent cuts to aid alongside calls for a “humanitarian reset”.

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