Book

Safeguarding medical care and humanitarian action in the UN counterterrorism framework

Alice Debarre

New York [etc.] : International Peace Institute, September 2018

III, 33 p. : diagr. ; 30 cm.

English

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In the past decade, counterterrorism measures have had an increasingly adverse impact on the provision of medical care and the conduct of principled humanitarian action in armed conflict settings. Whether inadvertently or not, they have impeded, and at times prevented, the provision of essential and lifesaving aid, often in violation of international humanitarian law (IHL). This paper aims to assist the Security Council and other stakeholders in upholding their obligations under IHL. It maps the UN counterterrorism framework and looks into the extent to which it guides states in complying with these obligations. In doing so, it offers several recommendations for the way forward, notable that all UN resolutions and national policies that pertain to counterterrorism should contain an exemption for humanitarian activities, and that every relevant UN counterterrorism measure should continue to reiterate that counterterrorism efforts need to comply with international law.

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