LA LETTRE FONDS - fondcrf.org · The list of priority geographic zones for research has widened...

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« It is from within the profound mutations of the humanitarian landscape that the Fund identifies the very reasons for its existence. »The perpetual evolution of our world is made evident by the events that punctuate change. Humanitarian action is no exception. Periodically, its newest forms come into sharper, more precise perspective. Innovative geopolitical strategies partially draw upon humanitarian diplomacy, often confronted with the paradox of opening up to the world while closing in on oneself. Modes of funding are diversifying while requirements for verification and control become more and more severe. We are indeed witnessing a recomposition of the humanitarian landscape, in search of new alliances and a new equilibrium between partners. More important yet is the increasing attention given to ethics with regards to the people affected by humanitarian action. Alongside humanitarian principles, ethics are capable of renewing humanitarian thought by putting victims back into the fore of the debate which concerns them above all others. The principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice remind us that it is indeed the victims which must define their needs, what will really help them and what could hurt them – all while respecting equal treatment for all.It is from within these profound mutations of the humanitarian landscape that the Fund identifies the very reasons for its existence. The pertinence between these new questionings and the beginnings of appropriate solutions explains the sincere support the Fund receives – from the French Red Cross to our partners who have chosen to accompany us in diverse ways. This year will bring new collaboration between the Fund and Le Monde diplomatique, an occasion for the researchers and teams that we fund to present their work. The Ebola crisis in particular has galvanised us. Following the first seminar in Dakar, a second will take place in Abidjan with the same objective of bringing operational professionals and scholars together, in order to elucidate common strengths. And, we are already thinking of our contribution to the World Humanitarian Summit in spring 2016.The Fund is now two years old. It has stayed the course and the results are promising. We thank you for your continued support.

Prof. Jean-François MatteiPresident

Content

1 EDITORIAL

2-3 ENCOURAGING RESEARCH

Call for projects and scholarship applications: 2015 edition

3 questions for Eloi Ficquet

3 questions for Bénédicte Schutz

4-5 PROJECTS FOCUS

The humanitarian landscape of 6-7 Ivory Coast: actors and dynamics

The humanitarian transition in Burkina Faso: issues, specificities and perspectives

8-9 DIALOGUE

Dakar seminar10 Our actuality

11 THE DOCTORAL TRIBUNE

In the words of Marion Péchayre

12 A WORD FROM THE FRENCH RED CROSS

N°2 JUNE 2015

LA LETTREDU FONDS

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A NEW PROPOSED RESEARCH ANGLE

The overall theme of “Realities and prospects of a humanitarian transition in aid beneficiary countries” is the common topic for the first two years of funded projects. However, the scientific council wished to introduce a new sub-theme which they considered essential for analysing the mutations in the aid system: “The new geopolitics of international aid, funding, values, and operational principles: fragmentations and/or new alliances?” The call’s overall theme can still serve as the candidates’ general focus, just as they may choose to frame their work by one of the proposed, more specific sub-themes.

FRAGMENTATIONS AND NEW ALLIANCES IN THE HUMANITARIAN SYSTEM.

This sub-theme deals with the ongoing fragmentation in the humanitarian system. In an increasingly globalised world, the humanitarian sector

has progressively created its own space and its own dynamics. Mirroring the paradoxes of its time, the humanitarian world also reflects divisions and fragmentations in the larger environment of which it is a part. The UN system’s complex, costly reforms, which have little impact, or the powerlessness of states, the private sector and civil society in facing major transnational issues (corruption, organised crime, new forms of violence, forced mobilities, etc.) are among the factors of a certain, perceptible fragmentation. What are the resulting long-term effects of this on the humanitarian sphere? How to conceive of this fragmenta-tion as a sign of larger, more encompassing contemporary dynamics? How to interrogate the way that transnational actors and organisms “discretely” reconfigure the humanitarian system or create parallel systems of intervention with their own norms and principles, given this framework for analysis? Such are the issues concerning this sub-theme with its multiple transdisciplinary crossroads.

FOUR NEW COUNTRIES: MADAGASCAR, ETHIOPIA, BURUN-DI AND THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC).

The list of priority geographic zones for research has widened this year to include four countries: Madagascar, Ethiopia, Burundi and the DRC. They join the six others included in the 2014 call for projects. From now on, candidates may orient their research toward ten countries, with either a targeted approach or transversally by choosing a larger zone.In doing this, the Fund hopes to diversify the fields of research, to open analyses on the humanitarian transition to different contexts, and, finally, to allow francophone university teams residing in these countries to apply. Also, in order to better integrate reflections emanating from aid beneficiary countries the Fund has decided that, starting this year, research teams must reside in the eligible countries (or those neighbouring them) in order to apply for funding.

A ONE-DAY WORKSHOP IN DECEMBER 2015, ORGANISED WITH LE MONDE DIPLOMATIQUE.

The Fund plans to organise a day conference in December in collaboration with Le Monde diplomatique. The conference will be an occasion for presenting the first research results and for the Fund laureates of the first two years (2014 and 2015) to meet. The objective is to increase the integration of social science analysis, emanating from francophone countries of all continents, into global reflections, and to mobilise them in debates on the reformulation of aid. The intention is also to animate a network of researchers, capable of producing and mobilising knowledge on the mutations of international aid and on its reconfiguration. Entitled “Humanitarian Transition: the State of Research”, the day conference will give them the opportunity not only to present and disseminate their work, but also to confront practices with scholarly knowledge.

ENCOURAGING RESEARCH

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE FRENCH RED CROSS FUND N°2 JUNE 2015

OF THE CANDIDATESBASED IN COUNTRIES

IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH

OVER60 %OF THE ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES

COVERED BY THE PROPOSEDRESEARCH PROJECTS

100 %OF THE APPLICATIONS

COME FROM WEST AFRICA

NEARLY40 %FRANCOPHONIE

COUNTRIESREPRESENTED

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A few statistics on the 2015 call for projects

THE APPLICATIONS ARE CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW. THE RESULTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT THE END OF JUNE.

COUNTRIESCONSULTED

THE CALL

OVER60

Following the very positive feedback received after the 2014 call for projects - the French Red Cross Fund’s first - the 2015 edition emerges in continuity with its predecessor, with some thematic and geographic innovations. The objective remains unchanged: more than ever, encourage and guide academic reflection in the humanitarian field.

ENCOURAGING RESEARCH


Consult the full text of the 2015 Call at www.fondcrf.org

Bénédicte SchutzDirector of International Cooperation, Department of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Princely Government of Monaco

1. Could you explain the reasons for your engagement with the French Red Cross Fund?The creation of the Fund was a pioneering initiative because it consists of rethinking the (sometime volatile) way we respond to humanitarian crises. Today, states are demanding autonomy in the management of their emergency situations. Prof. Jean-François Mattei, in developing the concept of “sustainable humanitarian action”, poses the question of the utility of long term humanitarian aid. The French Red Cross Fund is therefore a precious tool for reflection, like a think tank, for rethinking humanitarian aid policy.

2. How do you think the Fund will influence the vision and the understanding that people have of international solidarity?The Fund’s contribution will be essential in view of the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016 in Istanbul, during which the heads of state will come together to address these questions for the first time. It represents a unique opportunity to move forward on a new, sustainable, participative vision of humanitarian action. In concrete terms, we must work harder to prevent crises, to give more of a leadership role to the authorities which face them, and to reinforce the populations’ capacities to confront them.

3. For you, what is the importance of social science research for understanding and accompanying humanitarian action?Social science research, especially in the domain of public policy, is necessary. In the domain of humanitarian aid, it means reinforcing the impact of our policies, financed by public funding and for which expenditures must be made accountable to citizens. Critical analysis and reflection on these issues is therefore essential in order to stay in touch with reality and to offer sustainable and effective solutions.

Eloi FicquetLecturer at l’Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)

1. Could you explain the reasons for your engagements with the French Red Cross Fund?The researchers and actors engaged in the domain of solidarity have a lot to learn from one another, not only through the questions they confront in their respective fields, but also the various forms which their engagements take, on several levels, in an attempt to offer viable and respectful solutions to the populations in question. The Fund’s objectives, particularly in terms of giving support to young researchers, are, to me, entirely pertinent for activating new lines of thought and for converting them into new principles for action.

2. What is your vision on the ties which bind social science research and humanitarian action? It’s quite a debate! The two are interwoven, dating back to when the humanism of the Renaissance was broken down into the scholarly approach of the humanities and the charity approach of humanitarian action. Between observation and intervention, these two approaches are attentive to the women and men who form a large, fragile, disposessed, oppressed part of humanity. And yet, it is not without some contradictions when these intentions to understand or to rescue try to impose themselves as universal principles, as the ideal of universality is not a goal in and of itself, but rather a point of access or a mode of communication.

3. What does that mean for your day-to-day work?My vision is not exclusively theoretical. In the fields where I work, principally in Ethopia, I established strong relationships with humanitarians by exchanging ideas and practical information and reciprocating services in logistical and medical support. I learned a lot from their experiences and I hope I was useful to them in return.

3 QUESTIONS FOR… Signing of partnership agreement between the Fund (Jean-François Mattei) and the Prince’s Government of Monaco (S.E.M. Michel Roger, Minister of State).

The Princely Government of Monaco has offered its financial support to the Fund for two years (2014-2015). Their grant is used directly to fund post-doctoral research scholarships in the humanitarian field in Africa.EHESS is a member of the Executive Board of the French Red Cross Fund and, as such, participates in the elaboration and validation of the Fund’s scientific policy.

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The humanitarian landscape of Ivory Coast: actors and dynamics

IVORY COAST: KEY FIGURESArea: 322,460 km²Population: 22.7 million inhabitantsRate of urbanisation: 49.7%Average age: 20.3 yearsPartners present: 147 Including: RC movement: 4UN: 17International NGOs: 28National NGOs: 98Source: RGPH 2014 (Institut national de la statistique, Ivory Coast)

The project« The humanitarian landscape of Ivory Coast :actors and dynamics ».

Individual post-doctoral research.This research received the financial support of theFrench Red Cross Fund and its partner the IRD.

Context and thematic issuesIVORY COAST: WHICH TRANSITIONFOLLOWING THE CRISIS?

Over the last several years, Ivory Coast has benefited fromreinforced humanit arian action. The political crisis which shook the country for ten years, culminating in the post-electoral war

of 2010-2011, effectively placed the country at the heart ofinternational solidarity.Numerous reports, informational maps and graphics on Ivory Coast have been produced, but there exists very little funda-mental, social science research which would permit a deeper understanding of the dynamics of aid (funders and beneficiaries)in the various regions of Ivory Coast (some having been studied more than others). And yet, such knowledge is crucial if thehumanitarian transition which is currently underway, bringing together the state, civil society, UN agencies, international NGOs and cooperation agencies, is to succeed.How do actors repartition themselves on the national and on the local level? Which domains of intervention are favouredby these organisations? How are they funded, how are theyselected by funders? What different forms are governance are put in place, with the state and with local communities?

Methods and implementationMEETING AID ACTORS, BUT ALSO BENEFICIARIES

Using a pluridisciplinary perspective, this study is built on the theoretical and methodological advances of the sociology oforganisations and of social action (Reverdy 2013), of thesolidarity-based economy (Célérier et al. 2013) and of geography.The research activities break down into: a mapping of humanitarianaction in Ivory Coast, followed by a mapping of actors (funders and beneficiaries) of humanitarian action, and finally the collectionof secondary data on governance within the organisations.After extensive literature review, Adou Djane focused his inves-tigations on certain villages in western Ivory Coast, particularlyin the Guémon region. He was especially interested in theCarrefour neighbourhood in Duékoué, which was one of the original hotspots of the post-electoral crisis.His approach is characterised by his proximity to the field.He made sure to meet local humanitarian actors: for example, Father Cyprien of the Catholic mission of Duékoué, OCHArepresentatives and others representing international NGOs. Healso interviewed common citizens, repatriates and former soldiersto try to grasp the complex relationships and the dynamics which affect actors in times of crisis.

Project implementerAdou Djane, PhD in sociology, is a resear-cher at the Centre Suisse de RecherchesScientifi ques (CSRS) in Ivory Coast, aswell as at the Laboratoire de SociologieEconomique et d’Anthropologie des Appar-tenances Symboliques (LAASSE) at FélixHouphouët Boigny University in Abidjan.

PROJECTS FOCUS PROJECTS FOCUS

« Understanding aid from the beneficiaries’ points of view isjust as important as interviewing aid professionals »

InterviewFOR YOU, WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THE HUMANITARIAN TRANSITION IN IVORY COAST?

Adou Djane: It’s very diffi cult to answer this question on a national level. Ivory Coast is a fragmented space. Any point of view we can have on its humanitarian transition is highly dependent on the regional context, as the country is very regionally divided.This is why I decided to refocus my subject on the western part of the country, which was highly aff ected by the crisis and which concentratesa large part of international aid in the country. To address the transitionaldimension, I found it was more interesting to focus on the zones which experienced unstable but constant interactions with humanitarianactors. Indeed, the very fi rst interviews that I had with OCHA and with other NGOs revealed that some actions implemented in the East and in the North were terminated quite quickly as they were less in the spotlight although problems related to the crisis remain, such asissues of health and hunger.

YOU HAVE DEDICATED YOUR WORK TO THE DUÉKOUÉ REGION. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THIS CHOICE?

AD: The Duékoué locality was the theatre of numerous clashes duringthe post-electoral crisis in 2010. The Duékoué – Guiglo – Man belt allows us to see the transition in the space that was under thegovernance of the New Forces since 2002, as well as to examine its evolution in the buff er zone. The Carrefour neighbourhood in Duékoué is, in a sense, a representation in miniature of the Ivorian crisis.Studying small localities such as these allows us to take on a deeperanalysis of the actors on a small scale. I became interested in the micro-local level and in the concrete implementation of humanitarian action in the fi eld, which involved community, traditional and religious authorities,alongside the NGOs. For example, in Duékoué I met important religiousfi gures, such as Father Cyprien of the Duékoué Catholic mission, who played an important role in the 2011 crisis.

HOW HAVE LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL ACTORSEVOLVED IN THE POST-CRISIS SITUATION?

AD: To the extent that funders tend to favour mechanisms whichguarantee increased control over intervention, each fi eld actor ends up being held accountable to its funders rather than to its benefi ciaries. As for state actors, they are often beholden to logics of brokering andrent-seeking. In the people’s collective memory, international aid has more or less of a negative image. In a context of failure of state services,an excessive dependence of the population on the humanitariansystem comes to the fore. And yet, OCHA reports that funding hardly surpasses 40% of the needs expressed by local actors. This impressionis confi rmed in the fi eld: many villages begin an action and but do not follow through. In Duékoué for example, a reintegration project for displaced persons and former soldiers has been in place for two years, but nothing has come of it. One person I interviewed said “The location was supposed to be built two years ago. To us, it’s more of a call to arms that a call to disarm!” Understanding aid from the benefi ciaries’ points of view is just as important as interviewing aid professionals.

HUMANITARIAN ACTION, DEVELOPMENT:WHAT DO THEY MEAN TODAY?

AD: The border between humanitarian action and development is not very easily discernible. How to evaluate the impacts of a crisis and of its resolution? To me, it is indispensable to take stock of the factor that initiated the disorder. In Ivory Coast, as it happens, this factor is thecivil war. Thus my choice to focus on Duékoué.It goes without saying that, following the 2002 crisis, everything hadto be built or rebuilt upon the return of the displaced population.Before, NGOs intervened through charity or took long-term action. From this point of view, humanitarian action sought to mitigate theeff ects of the economic crisis. The goal was to prevent a famine or other crises. Humanitarian action was therefore diffi cult to distinguish from social action.

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE FRENCH RED CROSS FUND N°2 JUNE 2015 THE NEWSLETTER OF THE FRENCH RED CROSS FUND N°2 JUNE 2015

IVORY COAST

M A L I B U R K I N A

G H A N A

YAMOUSSOUKRO

Bouaké

Odienné

G U I N É E

L I B E R I A ABIDJAN

DaloaBouaflé

Man

Divo

GagnoaDimbokro

Abengourou

Adzopé

Korhogo

Boundiali

SéguélaMankono Katiola

Bongouanou

Ferkessédougou

Tengréla

Touba

Guiglo

Danané

Duékoué

Zuénoula

Bouna

Dabakala

Bondoukou

TandaMbahiakro

BokandaAgnibilékrou

Issia

Soubré

Sassandra

San Pédro

Tabou

Lakota

Agboville

Dabou

Aboisso

Adiaké

Grand-Bassam

Poster indicating the implication of some actors in the rehabilitationof some IDPs’ houses in the village of Toa Zeo

Interview with resettled person after the post-election crisis in Toa Zeo

Adou Djane

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The humanitarian transition in Burkina Faso: issues,perspectives and the specificity of the Burkinabè context

PROJECTS FOCUS PROJECTS FOCUS

« The different axes of the humanitarian transitiondo not progress at the same pace »

InterviewWHAT IS THE STATE OF THE HUMANITARIAN TRANSITION IN BURKINA FASO TODAY?

Jacky Bouju: The Burkinabè institutions have made clear their will tomobilise and take action when faced with catastrophes. However, until now, these institutions have lacked the necessary dynamism. The currentphase of political transition is favourable to change. And yet, the main problem that national authorities face is the insuffi ciency of the availablebudgets. Additionally, and despite political will, their de facto dependenceon funders (NGOs and international agencies) remains.

ARE INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS NOT READYTO DELEGATE MORE RESPONSIBILITIES TO LOCAL ACTORS?

JB: The process is underway. On the local level, the internationalagencies and NGOs already rely on the civil society. However, in orderto protect themselves from certain forms of opportunism which crop up locally, they restrict funding through conditions of eligibility andfi nancial auditing. According to OCHA, out of 195 Burkinabè huma-nitarian NGOs, only 60 of them are truly operational! One of our next objectives will be to understand how those who are chosen to carry out interventions are chosen. It is not always the sincerity of theirengagement that is called into question. Criticism is also made based on their fi nancial standing, which is crucial for being able to act quickly,but also on their competence. With this in mind, the NGOs off ernumerous trainings to help professionalise local actors. On the part of the Burkinabè authorities, they have made a colossal eff ort by recently creating the Institut superieur de sécurité humaine (ISSH), which off ers specialised master’s degrees in the various humanitarian professions.However, the diff erent axes of the humanitarian transition do notprogress at the same pace.

HOW DO THE VARIOUS NGOS THAT YOU MET SEE THE HUMANITARIAN TRANSITION?

JB: Many of them consider that they’ve been engaged in it for a long time! But, in fact, each of them go about it in their own way! In this movement of permanent reform, each NGO has its own logic.For example, we were shocked to observe that everything, right down to the smallest garbage cans and latrines in the Sag-Nioniogocamp carried the logo of the agency that provided them. In the end, it’s a highly competitive environment in which everyone must affi rm their usefulness and adapt if they are to maintain their existence. The IEDA example is quite eloquent. IEDA is an NGO from the USA,specialising in emergency relief, under contract with UNHCR. Despitethe end of the emergency situation, they decided to maintainmanagement of the refugee camps in Burkina Faso. They thereby engaged themselves in a sort of reconversion toward development.

MUST INTERNATIONAL NGOS AND AGENCIESQUESTION THEMSELVES TO HELP BRING ABOUTTHE HUMANITARIAN TRANSITION?

JB: Our baseline hypothesis was that the diff erent values and ethical principles of the humanitarians and the benefi ciary populations could be a source of obstacles, a sticking point. Indeed, universal solidarity, the foundation of humanitarian action is, in the end, the product of a very euro-centric cultural conception. When, for example, we attempt to apply principles of gender equality and democracy in a Touareg cultural environment (the majority in the camps in the North), it leads to absurd situations that shock the local population, making their leaders feel dispossessed of their authority. The NGO IEDA used this logic to create committees of nobles, women and even slaves, hoping, in vain, that all voices would be heard.However, it would be false to say that we did not meet a number of Burkinabè actors who based their actions on universal humanitarian values. That’s not really the problem. The real point of friction is rather situated in the funders’ managerial system, marked by international standards. It’s hard to fathom how the infi nite variety of the required ac-counting, fi nancial and bureaucratic justifi cations constitute a symbolic violence to the intervention’s local actors. To satisfy the funders’ condi-tions, they sometimes end up having to create false documents inorder to provide justifi cations which, in Burkina Faso, simply don’t exist!


The women of the organisation « Enfance et solidarité » (Childhood and solidarity)

BURKINA FASO: KEY FIGURESArea: 274,200 km2Population: 17.9 million inhabitantsRate of urbanisation: 23%Average age of the population: 21.8 years (in 2006)54% is less than 18 years old1.8 million people are aff ected by food insecurity1

514,000 children under 5 years of age suff er from acute malnutrition1

Source : OCHA

The project« Sustainable Emergency Humanitarian Action. The Redis-tribution of Operational Roles among humanitarian actors, local partners and beneficiary populations in Burkina Faso ».

Collective research.This research received the financial support of the Princely Government of Monaco.

Context and thematic issuesTHE HUMANITARIAN TRANSITION IN BURKINA FASO: STRONG WILL AND STICKING POINTS

Despite large amounts of funding and technical assistance provided for years by international aid, Burkina Faso has only

obtained mediocre results in terms of economic and socialdevelopment. The fight against food insecurity remains a priority.Today, despite remaining dependant on humanitarian anddevelopment funders, Burkina Faso has shown its will to take charge of humanitarian interventions within its territory.How does this engagement towards humanitarian transition manifest itself and what local issues and specificities come into play? What freedom do the governmental authorities have to make changes? What are the NGOs’ reactions? What are the limits and the sticking points of this process?

Methods and implementationENCOUNTERS WITH NEARLY 20 HUMANITARIAN ACTORS

After a phase of documentary and theoretical research, the team undertook a process of identifying and interviewing localhumanitarian actors. First and foremost, the stakes are tounderstand the local humanitarian fabric by comparing theirvarious visions, in all of their partialness or their partiality, with one another to gain a more comprehensive understanding.The team is using an ethnographic method which will give a central place to fieldwork, where the information is obtained through interviews and in situ participant observation, verified through complex triangulation and saturation of information analysis.Two missions of two and three weeks, undertaken in December and in February, allowed the team to meet nearly 20 actors: NGOs, international agencies, and structures related to local authorities and associations.Notably, a meeting with UNHCR resulted in a study in the Sag-Nioniogo refugee camp, currently being dismembered, to gain anthropological clarity on the complex relationships between refugees and autochthones. The next mission is planned for the summer.

The project implementerand his team Jacky Bouju is an anthropologist at the Institute of the AfricanWorlds (l’Institut des Mondes Africains, IMAf) in Aix-en-Provence.His research team includes Sylvie Mbueselir Ayimpam, socio-economist, specialist in development sciences and researcher with IMAf, and Magali Chelpi-Den Hamer, political scientist andresearcher with IMAf.

BURKINA

M A L I

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C ÔT E D ’ I VO I R E

OUAGADOUGOUNouna

Tougan

Toma

Dédougou

Ouahigouya

Gjibo Dori

Yako

Goursi Kongoussi

Kaya Bogandé

ZorgoKoudougou

Kombissiri

Bobo-DioulassoOrodara

Banfora

Diébougou

Gaoua

Léo Pô

Manga

KoupélaFada-Ngourma

Diapaga

TenkodogoHoundé

Sagnioniogo camp

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Dakar seminar: fruitful exchanges between scholars and actors of the humanitarian sectorStarting in 2014, the French Red Cross Fund began organising a series of scientific seminars,to be held once per year in the priority research countries. While the Fund has taken up themission of stimulating written research, it also strives to encourage debate on its favoured topics, across multiple national perspectives. The goal of these seminars is also to allow professionals from the academic world and from the humanitarian sector to meet, whereas they do nottypically have many occasions to exchange their practices and experiences.

DIALOGUE DIALOGUE

Five round table discussions on the humanitariantransition and new issues in international solidarityThe fi rst round table discussion, entitled “Realities and perspectives on the humanitarian fabric”, allowed for painting an overall panorama of thehumanitarian sector in Senegal while situating it in a historical context.How can we get passed the dichotomy between emergency interventions and sustainable interventions? This was the subject of the second round table discussion, “The humanitarian transition under debate”. This theme lead the participants to refl ect more generally on new issues which intersect the contemporary humanitarian fi eld.Human capital and, especially, the issues tied to the transmission of knowledge are at the heart of the ongoing transformations. Such was the central topic of the third round table discussion: “Leadership, skills and training: towards sustainable humanitarian action”.The fourth round table discussion, “Research and humanitarian action: the stakes of (re)conciliation”, allowed participants to question the existing ornecessary links between research and intervention, and the concrete ways of implementing such a collaboration – a theme which is particularly important to the Fund.Last of all, “ethical principles” and their modes of application in the humani-tarian fi eld animated the fi fth and fi nal round table discussion. Underdebate: the possibilities for adapting principles conceived of in Western contexts in the Global South.

Dakar, the fi rst in a long seriesof scientifi c seminarsThe fi rst seminar took place in Dakar on 5th and 6th November 2014, in partnership with the Senegalese Red Cross, the Institutde recherche pour le développement (IRD), the Cheik Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD) and with the support of the VeoliaFoundation. Hosted by the UCAD/IRD campus, the seminar was organised in the form of fi ve thematic round table discussions,which brought together a total of 30 specialists from twoprinciple domains.

Scholars and actors of humanitarianaction around a common tableThe pool of presenters widely represented local and internationalprofessionals of humanitarian action, health and developmentactive in Senegal. Among the structures present were the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement (Senegalese Red Cross, the French Red Cross delegation, the IRCF delegation), international NGOs (Oxfam, Acted, ICVA, Caritas) national and regional NGOs (Enda Tiers Monde, Tostan, Alima, Amref), representatives of the civil society (student movements; Alliance for Migration, Leadership and Development; Senegalese Federation of Disabled Persons’ Associations), actors from the health fi eld (Ministry of Health,he University Hospital of Saint-Louis, the Pasteur Institute) and foundations (Senghor Foundation, Mérieux Foundation).The Senegalese academic sphere and foreign research institutes were also represented by research professors from UCAD, Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis (UGB), the Institut fondamentald’Afrique Noire (IFAN), the Institut de recherche pour le dévelop-pement (IRD) and specialised social science laboratories(CREPOS, LARTES). Three scholars from the sub-region alsoaccepted to participate in the debates, taking on a comparative approach, from the University of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso,the LASDEL in Niger and the UNESCO Chair for a Culture ofPeace at Cocody University in Ivory Coast. Specialists in law,history, political sciences, sociology and anthropology, they tookan active role in the presentations and the discussions.Lastly, the debate was nourished by the participation of interna-tional organisations and bilateral agencies active in Senegal such as OCHA, UNAIDS, AFD and the delegation of the Francophonie.

Closing debate animated by UGB and UCAD doctoral candidates

A specialized public residing at 80% in West Africa


View the videos of the seminar at www.fondcrf.org

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A publication and an upcoming seminar in Abidjan in November 2015Beyond the quality of the individual presentations and the debates that they provoked, what we take away from this seminar is that exchanging viewpoints between these diff erent professions - the bearers of highly diverse experiences, expectations and diagnoses - is in and of itself very fruitful.The seminar concluded with two sessions which aimed to open the debate and sketch new perspectives on humanitarian action in Senegal and elsewhere. The fl oor was fi rst given to Burkinabè, Ivoirian and Nigerien academics who had off ered comparative perspectives on the scale of West Africa. Next, PhD candidates from UCAD and UGB shared their observations on the two days of the seminar to which they contributed their own experiences and research.The Dakar seminar was a success. It will be the object of a collective publication before the end of 2015. In the same vein, the Fund will organiseanother seminar, this time in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), in the month of November 2015.

Round table discussion “Realities and perspectives of the Senegalese humanitarian fabric”: J. Mubalama (Head of the French Red Cross delegation in Senegal), A. Diallo (Senegalese Red Cross President), M. Badji (Dean of the Faculty of Law - UCAD), A. S. Fall (Scientifi c coordinator - LARTES).

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We were there…A meeting with Dr Jemilah Mahmood, Chief of the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) Secretariat NEW YORK/ JANUARY 2015

A delegation from the Fund travelled to New York in early January to meet with Dr Jemilah Mahmood, who is responsible for organising the World Humanitarian Summit for the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). As one of the Funds partners, IRD’s representative to the UN was also invited to the meeting.This meeting allowed for presenting the Fund and its research activities to Dr Mahmood and to explain to her the originality of its mission in the francophone humanitarian field. Whether speaking of the introduction of ethics or the necessity of increased consideration of reflections coming from aid beneficiary countries, discussion is engaged between OCHA and the Fund in view of the Geneva Global Consultation which will be held in October and of the WHS planned for May 2016 in Istanbul.For more information: www.worldhumanitariansummit.org

Participation in the Forum espace humanitaire (FEH) ANNECY / FEBRUARY 2015

In early February, the Fund participated in the Forum espace humanitaire (FEH) in Annecy as an organising partner. This 4th edition of the FEH took place at Les Pensières Domain of the Mérieux Foundation with the objective of offering a unique and informal platform for discussion between the leaders of French humanitarian organisations. The FEH also convokes funders, foreign NGOs and experts in order to confront the reflections and concerns of humanitarian actors and to build the future by working together on diverse current or fundamental issues. Entitled “Which transitions for which humanitarian action?” the 2015 edition allowed the approximately 60 participants to reflect on the challenges of the reconfiguration of the humanitarian system and on the position of French actors.For more information: www.forum-espace-humanitaire.org

Upcoming events…Day of training on ethics, organised by the Fund. PARIS / JUNE 2015

At the request of several humanitarian leaders who wished to give further reflection to the manner in which ethical questions and delibe- ration can be translated into practice when “dilemmas” arise in the field, this June the Fund will organise a day of training on ethics. Jean-François Mattei, president of the Fund, and Pierre Le Coz, professor of philosophy and former member of the National Consultative Ethics Committee will animate and facilitate. Putting humanitarian ethics into practical application can serve as a guide for the questions which have no obvious solution. It must allow us to take a major step to improve services for the beneficiaries.The morning will be dedicated to theoretical tea- chings on the concepts and authors of ethics. In the afternoon, the goal will be to put these tea- chings in to practice through case studies co-ming from the experiences of the participants or which the organisation encountered in the field.

Participation in the Convergences World Forum. PARIS / SEPTEMBER 2015

The Fund will once again be participating in the Convergences World Forum which, each year, brings nearly 5,000 participants to Paris to share ideas and debate innovative solutions for the fight against poverty and economic and social insecurity in the world. The 2015 edition will take place on 7th, 8th and 9th September. The Fund will co-organise a round table discussion on the to-pic of the humanitarian transition, with presenters from the Global North and from the Global South.For more information: www.convergences.org

Organisation of the Fund’s second annual seminar. ABIDJAN / NOVEMBER 2015

Following the first of its seminars, organised in Dakar last year, it is now Abidjan’s turn to serve as the location of the Fund’s 2nd annual seminar in November 2015. With nearly 50 participants - international and local experts of humanitarian aid in Ivory Coast - the objective of this seminar is to gain deeper understanding of the dynamics of the humanitarian transition in the Ivorian post-conflict context, to stimulate debate between actors of civil society, public and international institutions and NGOs and to put this context of emergence into perspective with other countries of the sub-region. The next issue of the Fund’s Newsletter will shed more light on this upcoming seminar.

DIALOGUE THE DOCTORAL TRIBUNE

In the words of Marion PéchayreSchool of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

Marion Péchayre is currently working on a doctoral thesis in anthropology on the principle of impartiality called for by emergency humanitarian actors. Her work is based on field research in Pakistan.

Marion Péchayre

THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF IMPARTIALITY IN HUMANITARIAN SETTINGS

Among the three humanitarian principles regularly claimed and upheld as being operational, there is one that is the subject of widespread consensus among practitioners: impartiality. It involves not discrimina-ting against people based on criteria such as religion, politics or race and to provide them with aid in proportion to their needs. This principle is not the subject of debate among scholars of humanitarian action.

Humanitarian actors speak of impartiality as if its practical application were automatic, as if there were no good or bad victims, as if all of the “most vulnerable” should receive assistance. However, in practice, humanitarian actors are confronted with limits related to the contexts in which they evolve – significant insecurity, long, arduously-negotiated (or simply denied) administrative authorisations – as well as budgetary constraints on a financial or logistical level, or even due to human resources. Not all victims of a disaster (war or hazard) can thus receive assistance.

Although impartiality itself remains undiscussed, two types of peripheral critiques emerge concerning the politics of assistance “solely based on needs”. The first is a critique which comes from experts of the humanitarian sector. They posit that if many projects do not correspond perfectly to the people’s “real needs”, it is because the collection and use of information on their “needs” is not sufficiently rigorous, profes-sional or scientific. The second comes from the anthropology of deve-lopment and maintains that the rhetoric of principles, and needs, is but a moral facade for logics dominated by power plays. These critiques, however, do not tell us what goes on concretely in terms of the prac-tices of humanitarian actors in relation to the principle of impartiality.

Indeed, faced with the aforementioned constraints, aid professionals have to choose who they will assist in priority. These practices, in which the principle of impartiality comes into question, are, in fact carried out in the image of what hospital emergency services call “triage”: a practice consisting of organising patients in a hierarchy, in order to prioritise those whose needs are most severe. Triage and impartiality may be seen as two sides of the same coin, making impartiality visible and observable through the concrete angle of humanitarian triage: a series of explicit and implicit choices made about the geographic area, the categories of people to whom aid is to be provided and the types of services offered.

In line with the literature of anthropology of development, my disserta-tion explores practices of humanitarian triage through an ethnography of projects implemented in Pakistan by three international NGOs who have a long history of emergency response. A detailed description of the practices and representations of actors allows for rendering their logics and their points of view, all while offering a critical analysis.

Based on daily humanitarian practices, this research finally brings the multitudes of politics of impartiality into the light of day which, when they are not seen as such, put actors at risk of becoming the prey of influences that surpass them.

Contact : [email protected]

All PhD candidates working on mutations in the humanitarian field from an original point of view may submit a presentation of their ongoing work (in French or in English) by sending it to [email protected]. The most pertinent contributions may be published in the Doctoral Tribune of the Fund’s Newsletter.


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Information session conducted by an international NGO on daily hygiene best practices in Sindh, Pakistan, March 2012

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Signing of a distribution list by a recipient in Sindh, Pakistan, March 2012

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J-F. Mattei received in New York by Dr. J. Mahmood, head of WHS secretariat at OCHA

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The Fund round table discussion at Convergences in September 2014

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A WORD FROM THE FRENCH RED CROSS

« The experiences garnered by humanitarian actionshould serve social science researchers, and vice-versa »

The Ebola virus epidemic which has gripped West Africa since late 2013 and continues to do so in 2015 was an occasion for the French Red Cross to invest in combatting the disease alongside the Guinean Red Cross and the French and Guinean authorities. It constitutes an ongoing engagement which also allows for moving forward in its desire to develop the medical aspect of its actions. This work began in the forested zones and continues in the Conakry Region due to treatment and information centres. The many problems observed, on a human and especially on a social level besides the more specific health issues, are therefore highly revealing and pertinent for mobilising social science research, thus bringing the Fund and the Directorate of International Relations and Operations (DROI) closer together.The response to a severe epidemic within an operational, emergency framework provokes reactions which must be observed a posteriori as well as pluridisciplinary reflections and, of course, suggestions for improvement based on these experiences. The experiences garnered by humanitarian action should serve social science researchers, and vice-versa.From this perspective, the French Red Cross urges the Fund to devise and undertake an unprecedented endeavour to help learn from existing programmes and to prepare better-adapted solutions for the future. This synergy between the French Red Cross and the Fund illustrates a shared desire for a fruitful collaboration.

Prof. François BRICAIREAdministrator of the French Red Cross Fund and the French Red Cross

©2015 French Red Cross Fund

THE FRENCH RED CROSS FUND

The French Red Cross Fund is an endowment fund dedicated to research and ethical reflections in the humanitarian field. Created in 2013 upont the initiative of the French Red Cross, it seeks to instigate, fund and reward research projects which put the principles, practices and purposes of the evolving landscape of humanitarian action into perspective.

THE FUND’S NEWSLETTERThe Fund’s newsletter – a bilingual newsletter with two issues per year – aims at presenting the Fund’s research themes through its various activities. Subscribe to this newsletter and check out past issues on the Fund’s website.

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR

Jean-François MATTEI

EDITORIAL BOARD

Thomas FOUQUETJean-François MATTEIVirginie TROITMarco SACCHICaroline VITAGLIONE

EDITORIAL CONSULTING

Agence Galilée

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Agence Ledouze

OUR PARTNERS

Agence LedouzeCroix-Rouge françaiseFondation MérieuxFondation VéoliaInstitut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)Principauté de MonacoVille de Strasbourg

CONTACT

Fonds Croix-Rouge françaiseHôpital Henry Dunant95 Rue Michel-Ange75016 PARISTél : 01 40 71 16 34Fax : 01 46 51 52 97

[email protected] FONDS Croix-Rouge française @FondsCRFwww.fondcrf.org


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