ABSTRACT
Developments since the end of the Cold War have encouraged multilateral security organizations and humanitarian organizations to orientate their activities in the same direction. Although the formal structures of multilateral security organizations have not appreciably altered, their purpose has. During the Cold War most multilateral security organizations operated with a statist concept of security, restricted their activities to the defense of states, and viewed security in strictly military terms. Yet over the past fifteen years many of these same organizations have introduced a humanitarian dimension into their strategic doctrines and stated purpose. Reflective of the member states that define their activities, many regional and international organizations increasingly view as legitimate the idea of humanitarian intervention, believe that human rights are an important part of security, and occasionally fancy themselves as humanitarian actors. As they have warmed to the idea and importance of humanitarian action, many major powers and regional organizations not only see humanitarian action as an important supplement to their goals, they also imagine that states and humanitarian organizations are crime-fighting partners. As former Secretary of State Colin Powell told a gathering of NGOs in 1991, “just as surely as our diplomats and military, American NGOs are out there [in Afghanistan] serving and sacrificing on the frontlines of freedom. NGOs are such a force multiplier for us, such an important part of our combat team.”1
