ABSTRACT
In 2014, the number of formal humanitarian assistance organizations was estimated to be 5,000, employing over a quarter million people. Institutionally, individual governments and states are meant to hold the primary responsibility for the protection of their citizens in crises—and are expected to fulfill humanitarian functions. The number of national non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations has grown rapidly in crisis-affected countries, leading to extensive South–South cooperation and widespread recognition that such groups play a critical role in humanitarian action. General assembly Resolution 46/182, adopted in December 1991, is generally considered the founding document of the modern UN-established humanitarian system. The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the world’s largest, most established and oldest humanitarian actor. The United States administers humanitarian support through the US Agency for International Development and its subsidiary, the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance.
