Advocacy as humanitarian politics : toward a broader conception of humanitarian action

Advocacy in the humanitarian field has historically taken a back seat to relief operations, and for good reason: the central imperatives governing humanitarian action—access (to populations in need) and security (of one's teams in the field)—also limit humanitarian advocacy. Bedrock humanitarian principles such as neutrality, impartiality, and humanity ensure that humanitarian interventions are non-political (impartial), but also limit the scope of political activities like advocacy available to relief NGOs. This international division of humanitarian labor—with relief NGOs focused on needs-based assistance while political actors focus on the political work of resolving crises—has been unraveling in the post-Cold War world, forcing the relief community to reconsider its relationship with political action and its engagement with the so-called political world. This study argues that humanitarian advocacy is now indispensable to humanitarian action, and that relief NGOs must view advocacy as a vehicle for "operating in broader political arenas, while maintaining the core values of humanity and impartiality that make humanitarianism a distinct and valuable form of politics" (Leader 2000: 4). The relief community can no longer limit itself to service delivery alone: investing in advocacy is the only way to safeguard humanitarian values, effectively engage political actors, and ensure humanitarian outcomes for vulnerable populations around the world.