Preventing corruption in humanitarian assistance: perceptions, gaps and challenges

Corruption is a threat to the purpose of humanitarian assistance. Until fairly recently, humanitarian assistance has not been considered an important arena in broader efforts aimed at curbing corruption, and corruption has not always been considered a particularly important concern for humanitarian assistance despite the obviously challenging nature of the context of humanitarian emergencies. Corruption, though, is a threat to humanitarian action because it can prevent assistance from getting to the people who most need it, and because it can potentially undermine public support for such assistance. This paper examines perceptions of corruption and its affects, documents best practices, and outlines gaps in understanding. It suggests recommendations for improving the capacity of humanitarian agencies to prevent and manage the risk of corruption. Agencies have taken steps to combat corruption and improve accountability--downwards and upwards--but scope remains for improvement and for greater sharing of learning and good practice.     

Being Good at Doing Good? Quality and Accountability of Humanitarian NGOs

Quality enhancement of humanitarian assistance is far from a technical task. It is interwoven with debates on politics of principles and people are intensely committed to the various outcomes these debates might have. It is a field of strongly competing truths, each with their own rationale and appeal. The last few years have seen a rapid increase in discussions, policy paper and organisational initiatives regarding the quality of humanitarian assistance. This paper takes stock of the present initiatives and of the questions raised with regard to the quality of humanitarian assistance.     

新形势下我国环境管理与改革取向

在"十三五"我国经济新常态的大逻辑下,环境管理机遇和挑战并存。污染欠账多、污染随着产业转移、政策执行走样、排污收费覆盖面窄、收取率低等,制约环境管理和环保产业的发展。对环境污染的严重性和复杂性、生态环境形势的十分严峻性,以及对污染治理的艰巨性和长期性,应当有一个清醒认识。扭转环境保护与经济发展不协调、不可持续状况,满足城乡居民日益高涨的环境诉求,必须调整环境管理思路,加快改革步伐,扭转环境保护"弱势"格局,厘清环境管理、环境事业和环境市场之间的关系,形成以排污许可证为依据的管理主线、以环境标准为准绳的倒逼机制,以环境司法裁定为常态的终身责任追究制度,创造一个人人守法、企业自觉治理污染和保护环境的社会氛围。     

Governing sexual behaviour through humanitarian codes of conduct

Since 2001, there has been a growing consensus that sexual exploitation and abuse of intended beneficiaries by humanitarian workers is a real and widespread problem that requires governance. Codes of conduct have been promoted as a key mechanism for governing the sexual behaviour of humanitarian workers and, ultimately, preventing sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA). This article presents a systematic study of PSEA codes of conduct adopted by humanitarian non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) and how they govern the sexual behaviour of humanitarian workers. It draws on Foucault's analytics of governance and speech act theory to examine the findings of a survey of references to codes of conduct made on the websites of 100 humanitarian NGOs, and to analyse some features of the organisation‐specific PSEA codes identified.     

Cracking the code: the genesis, use and future of the Code of Conduct

This paper reflects on the genesis of the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Disaster Relief, on the tenth anniversary of its adoption. The origins, usage and future of the code are examined with respect to three debates, current at the time of its inception, namely: the debate about the core content of humanitarianism; the debate about coherence and the consensual nature of the humanitarian community; and the debate about the need for, and the ability to demonstrate, accountability. The paper concludes that although the Code of Conduct was very much a product of its time, its content remains relevant today. However, its future application hinges on the capacity of those who purport to follow it to realise true accountability, and on proving that the code, written essentially for natural disasters, is relevant to contemporary complex emergencies.     

Citizen feedback in a fragile setting: social accountability interventions in the primary healthcare sector in Sierra Leone

Fragile and conflict‐affected states are frequently characterised by their inability to fulfil three core governance functions: provision of security, effective delivery of basic public goods and services, and managing political participation and accountability. This article explores the utility of social accountability interventions in fragile environments. Successful social accountability interventions can lead to joint examinations of public service standards by service‐users and providers, resulting in collaborative improvement efforts. The few available studies of such interventions implemented in fragile or conflict‐affected states show reasons for optimism as well as challenges. This article advocates the continued use of social accountability methods in fragile settings and provides examples of social accountability interventions in the health sector in Sierra Leone. The study suggests that social accountability can improve interaction between citizens and public service providers. Successful social accountability interventions can also lead to better quality and more accessible public services, which, in turn, can enhance state legitimacy.     

Putting affected people at the centre of humanitarian action: an argument for the principle of humanitarian subsidiarity

The humanitarian system has grown organically over the course of a generation to become a complex system bound by a common primary mandate. Its guiding principles provide it with a unique identity and separate humanitarian actors from other aid-related stakeholders. However, all of the evidence suggests that humanitarian actors will extend their reach and engage in new and unprecedented ways with an expanded mandate in years to come. Now, more than ever, they are challenged to retain the moral high ground and to put disaster-affected people at the centre of humanitarian action. Consequently, this paper proposes that the humanitarian system introduce a new principle: humanitarian subsidiarity. It moves the conception of subsidiarity beyond meanings ascribed by the Catholic Church and the European Union and links it instead to the attributes of agency, accountability, and trust to find accommodation with the core humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence.     

Environmental policy evaluation in the EU: between learning,accountability, and political opportunities?

ABSTRACT

Policy evaluation has grown significantly in the EU environmental sector since the 1990s. In identifying and exploring the putative drivers behind its rise – a desire to learn, a quest for greater accountability, and a wish to manipulate political opportunity structures – new ground is broken by examining how and why the existing literatures on these drivers have largely studied them in isolation. The complementarities and potential tensions between the three drivers are then addressed in order to advance existing research, drawing on emerging empirical examples in climate policy, a very dynamic area of evaluation activity in the EU. The conclusions suggest that future studies should explore the interactions between the three drivers to open up new and exciting research opportunities in order to comprehend contemporary environmental policy and politics in the EU.     

Beyond performance and protocols: early responders' experiences of multiple accountability demands in the response to the 2015 Nepal earthquake

Critics have long questioned the push for professionalised and performance‐driven accountability in the humanitarian sector, yet the matter is largely treated as a ‘back office’ issue of standards, guidelines, and processes. Scant attention is paid to the accountability demands experienced by early responders to disasters. Set in the contested climate of the emergency response to the earthquake in Nepal on 25 April 2015, and drawing on interviews with 15 early responders, this paper reveals three forms of accountability demands: (i) accountability as compliance; (ii) accountability as the object of government regulation; and (iii) accountability as public opposition and interrogation. Beyond the performance‐centric, non‐governmental organisation‐driven understanding of accountability, early responders to the earthquake experienced multidirectional accountability demands, not only from donors and beneficiaries, but also from the national government and wider public. Engaging with public criticism is a significant feature of early responders' responsibility that warrants further consideration by the humanitarian community.     

Progress Toward Delisting a Great Lakes Area of Concern: The Role of Integrated Research and Monitoring in the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan

The goal of restoring environmental health and qualities to Hamilton Harbour Great Lakes Area of Concern, an embayment at the western end of Lake Ontario, is considered to be achievable by the year 2015. Restoring Hamilton Harbour is a dynamic process that relies heavily on research and monitoring to direct remediation efforts. Three principle means of coordinating this research and monitoring include: research and monitoring workshops; a monitoring catalogue outlining both government and nongovernment initiatives; and an annual report written by a local community group. These tools increase the effectiveness of remedial actions by: (i) improving stakeholders' ability to track trends; (ii) allowing program decision-makers to utilize adaptive management techniques to continuously modify programs based on new results; (iii) integrating interdisciplinary fields, and (iv) increasing accountability. This paper describes in detail these tools used for coordinating research and monitoring in implementing the Remedial Action Plan of the Hamilton Harbour Great Lakes Area of Concern, along with lessons learned to assist other implementers who are considering similar programs.