Is Humanitarianism Being Dehumanised?

The French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS) is one of the main independent European Think Tanks on geopolitical and strategic issues.

IRIS, a public-interest association created in 1991, is a French think tank on geopolitical and strategic issues. It is the only international think tank to have been set up as a totally private initiative in an independent approach. IRIS activities can be divided into four fields: research, organisation of events and meetings, publishing and training.

Under the direction of Michel Maietta, Senior Research Fellow at IRIS and Head of the Strategy and Analysis Unit at Action Against Hunger France. This space of reflection aims to be an open forum for dialogue and research on humanitarian space’s evolution and the role of its stakeholders.

The humanitarian sector is going through an identity crisis; discussions about its west centric orientation, interventionist nature and more recently the resilience agenda have stirred new thinking but not revolutionary change. This is perhaps because serious consideration of these issues could radically challenge the established models, question our set of values and redefine the balance of power between the humanitarian actors.

This observatory aims to facilitate discussions which will bring together the perspective of actors in the humanitarian field and contribute to the thinking around a new generation of humanitarian organisations.The first Stand UP‐ Live debate on humanitarian issues took place on 22 May 2014 in Paris at the IRIS conference center. Stéphanie Rivoal, Chair of Action Against Hunger France (ACF France), presented her thoughts on the subject: Is humanitarianism being dehumanised? Pierre Micheletti, teacher at the Institute of Political Studies (IEP) in Grenoble and former Chair of Médecins du Monde, Xavier Emmanuelli, former French Secretary of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Michael Neuman, Director of Research at CRASH, then shared their views on Stéphanie Rivoal’s presentation, followed by a public debate. Didier Billion, Deputy Director of IRIS closed the Stand UP which was hosted by Christian Troubé, Director of Rue Principale agency. This is a summary of the various ideas and issues addressed.