Humanitarian NGO Sector
Humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are an integral component of international affairs and security, and integral to the functioning of the United Nations and the world at large. Some of the best known NGOs focus on humanitarian issues, such as the International Red Cross, Salvation Army, CARE International, and Oxfam. Humanitarian NGOs are mainly concerned with the life and welfare of displaced persons and with the delivery of social services, including food delivery, health and mental care, nutrition, and education and training.
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History: How did the Humanitarian NGO movement start?
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are the world’s largest groups of humanitarian NGOs. Although voluntary organizations have existed throughout history, NGOs have greatly developed in the past two centuries. One of the first humanitarian organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, was founded in 1863. Post-World War II and with the creation of the U.N, a rise in humanitarian NGO’s occurred, responding to the devastation of World War II. It was after the establishment of the UN that revisions were made to the two Geneva Conventions. On August 12, 1949, an additional convention was created “for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea”. After the experiences of World War II, the Fourth Geneva Convention, a new Convention “relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War,” was established. The Geneva Conventions are significant for humanitarian NGOs because that set the standards for international laws for humanitarian concerns. It is with the Geneva Conventions provisions in mind that humanitarian NGOs work to uphold these principles around the world.
