The Humanitarian Fix by Joe Cropp

Author:Joe Cropp [Cropp, Joe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, General, Archaeology, Demography, Developing & Emerging Countries
ISBN: 9780367440916
Google: 6SUAEAAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 54492887
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2021-01-17T02:13:07+00:00

Ten years ago it was hard for me to bump into actors or interlocutors for whom IHL would be taboo. Whereas in the last four or five years I’ve mostly been in stations where we’re dealing with people for whom IHL is either off the table or just utterly rejected because it seems a Western or foreign construct to them.

For many humanitarians, armed actors increasingly rejecting the very notion of Western legal frameworks has proven to be one of the greatest challenges for humanitarian protection. One of the most extreme examples of this is playing out in Mosul some 20 kilometres from where I stand with Murshid. As the aid convoy departs the camp, a pillar of smoke rises up on the horizon after another coalition bombing run on the city’s western half, which would ultimately be totally destroyed by these airstrikes and Iraqi artillery. Those who have escaped the city talk of the horrific treatment they experienced at the hands of ISIS during the two years of occupation. When they took the city, the radical Sunni group expelled Christians and massacred Shia and other minorities – torture, rape, summary executions and the deprivation of even the most basic human rights continued throughout their occupation. Any talk of humanitarian space and access ends at the city limits.6

Even outside the city, the influence of the humanitarian norms are not as clear as some try and project. To the west of the city lies the uncertain terrain of the various Shia militias. With shifting political allegiances, they are accused of discrimination, religious persecution and targeted killings. Leaving the Kurdish flags behind during my journey across northern Iraq, checkpoints become tense. A militia flag with the image of a sword dripping blood flutters over another bridge where vehicles are being stopped and searched. Attempting to travel to one of the larger relief camps the UN is operating in the area, we are turned back by Shia militia members wearing black balaclavas and skull masks.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.