ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the role of humanitarian organisations and international civil society. The chapter provides an overview of humanitarian organisations and discusses the role of two key organisations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), in more detail. The chapter provides a summary of core humanitarian principles, impartiality and neutrality, and how they relate to each other. Next, the chapter discusses the role of human rights organisations and the practice of naming and shaming. Some significant human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI), are described. Two cases, Yemen and Haiti, are surveyed more closely to illustrate the key points of this chapter. The chapter closes with a discussion of the changing nature of humanitarian action.
