humanitarian assistance

Ethiopian Army soldiers stand as a pick-up truck with militia men passes by at Mai Aini Refugee camp, in Ethiopia, on January 30, 2021. Children sit under a tree behind the soldiers.

Five Steps the Biden Administration Needs to Take on the Crisis in Tigray

The Biden administration will need to move quickly to avoid further devastation in Tigray.

Feb. 5, 2021 Hardin Lang and David Del Conte

Local elderly residents take shelter in the basement of an undisclosed church on October 12, 2020 in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh. Boxes and blankets are placed in piles on the floor and there are a few chairs and benches on which people sit. A person walks past the camera using a walking cane.

Power Politics Obstructs Protection of Civilians in — and After — the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Five measures that Azerbaijan and Armenia, along with Russia, Turkey, and the international community must take now to improve conditions.

Feb. 2, 2021 Beatrice Godefroy and Julien Théron

Head of the Houthi prisoner exchange committee Abdulkader al-Murtada shakes hands with Head of the Yemeni government delegation Hadi Haig between ICRC Director for the Near and Middle East Fabrizio Carboni and UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths at the end of a week-long meeting on a Yemen prisoner exchange agreement on September 27, 2020 in Glion, western Switzerland. None of them wear face masks and they stand close to one another.

US Terrorist Designation for Houthis is Bad for Yemen Even Beyond Crippling Aid Efforts

The Trump administration’s labeling of the armed group in its dying days in office also imperils political prospects for peace.

Jan. 25, 2021 Sophie Haspeslagh

US Vice President Joe Biden holds a file folder and talks with US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, August 4, 2015.

How Samantha Power Can Restore USAID’s Crucial Role in US Foreign Policy

The nomination signals that international cooperation is back in the toolbox for America's pursuit of an equitable, prosperous, and just world.

Jan. 13, 2021 Ambassador Donald Steinberg

Women wait with children in a ward at a malnourishment treatment centre in Yemen's northern Hajjah province on November 22, 2020. The beds the children lie in are covered in netting, and the walkways between beds are very small since the beds are crowded together.

Biden Must Stick to His Pledge to End US Support for the Yemen War

The war in Yemen is a global mark of shame, and the resulting humanitarian disaster threatens the lives of 24 million people.

Dec. 14, 2020 Priyanka Motaparthy and Osamah Alfakih

Secretary-General António Guterres holds a lecture at Columbia University entitled “State of the Planet”. The UN flag is behind him and beside him is a large television screen with the presentation title.

National Security Last Week at the United Nations (Nov 27 – Dec 4)

U.N. Negotiates for Humanitarian Access in Ethiopia Crisis On Dec. 2, United Nations (U.N.) spokesperson Stephane Dujarric announced that the Ethiopian government had agreed to…

Dec. 4, 2020 Tim Hirschel-Burns

A child waits next to jerry cans and aid packages as Yemenis displaced by conflict receive huamnitarian aid provided by the Abs Development Organisation (ADO) in the northern province of Hajjah on September 17, 2020.

Six Reasons Why a Terrorist Designation for Yemen’s Houthis is a Bad Idea

The litmus test for U.S. policy on Yemen is simple: does it help end the conflict, or keep alive the millions of suffering Yemenis? A terrorist designation of the Houthis fails…

Dec. 3, 2020 Eric Schwartz and Hardin Lang

International Red Cross and Red Crescent workers keep watch at an airport in the southern city of Aden, the interim seat of the Yemeni government, on October 16, 2020, as the war-torn country began swapping 1,000 prisoners in a complex operation overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

COVID-19 and International Law Series: International Humanitarian Law – Humanitarian Access

As COVID-19 spreads unchecked in war-torn areas around the world, the international humanitarian law principle of humanitarian access has become more urgent than ever. Local health…

Nov. 12, 2020 Oona A. Hathaway, Mark Stevens and 1 more

An Iranian woman walks past a currency exchange shop in the capital Tehran, on April 24, 2019.

New Financial Sector Sanctions will Eviscerate Humanitarian Trade with Iran

A basic understanding of the legal landscape of U.S. sanctions makes clear that sanctioning the rest of Iran’s financial sector will carry significant consequences for the Iranian…

Oct. 9, 2020 Shahrzad Noorbaloochi

A Lebanese protester waves a national flag amid clashes with security forces in the vicinity of Parliament in central Beirut on August 10, 2020.

Lebanon’s Peace Cartel is Irredeemable – How Donors Choose to Help Can Tip the Scales

Who controls aid matters for the immediate disaster response and for the leverage of those who have suffered the disaster against those who enabled it.

Aug. 12, 2020 Kurt Bassuener

Martin Griffiths, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen on a screen for a virtual Security Council meeting.

National Security at the United Nations This Week (July 25-31)

(Editor’s Note: This is the latest in Just Security’s weekly series keeping readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security,…

Jul. 31, 2020 Kamran King

Left: Hakeem stands near his tent in the settlement for displaced families, where he lives and works with Oxfam and Right: A’eshah with her family having their lunch.

USAID Has Suspended Aid to 80 Percent of Yemenis: An Appalling Abuse of Humanitarian Principles

USAID has suspended most aid for Yemenis living in territory controlled by the Houthi authorities in Sana’a. The suspension blocks $73 million in ongoing assistance and any additional…

Jul. 22, 2020 Scott Paul