- 1.
Humanitarian Aid Principles: Guided by humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and operational independence.
- 2.
Scope of Aid: Provision of essential services like food, water, shelter, medical care, sanitation, and protection services.
- 3.
Key Actors: UN agencies (e.g., OCHA, WFP, UNICEF), ICRC, NGOs (e.g., Doctors Without Borders), and national governments.
- 4.
Access: Requires safe, rapid, and unhindered access to affected populations, often negotiated with warring parties.
- 5.
IHL - Protection of Civilians: Prohibits direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects (e.g., hospitals, schools).
- 6.
IHL - Principle of Distinction: Parties must distinguish between combatants and civilians, and between military objectives and civilian objects.
- 7.
IHL - Proportionality: Attacks must not cause excessive civilian harm in relation to the anticipated military advantage.
- 8.
IHL - Prohibition of Certain Weapons: Bans or restricts weapons causing indiscriminate or unnecessary suffering (e.g., chemical weapons, anti-personnel landmines).
- 9.
IHL - Treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs): Mandates humane treatment, including medical care and protection from torture.
- 10.
Accountability: Grave breaches of IHL constitute war crimes, subject to prosecution (e.g., by International Criminal Court (ICC)).
