Episode Details

Protracted conflict and unprecedented levels of displacement have broken down the barriers between development and humanitarian work, prompting humanitarian organizations to engage more with social protection systems. While this presents another entry point to support affected populations in the medium- and long-term, it also stresses the importance of the principles of neutrality, impartiality, independence, and humanity in humanitarian action (NIIHA) which, if compromised, could impact the trust of parties to a conflict or affected populations, as well as access to the latter. In this post, ahead of the ICRC Digitharium’s ‘Digital Dilemmas’ virtual debate on social protection systems, Cristina Quijano Carrasco from the Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs explains why it is essential – particularly in this digital age of interoperable systems – that humanitarian organizations consider these challenges in assessing their engagement in social protection programs.