Humanitarian Ethics: A Guide to the Morality of Aid in War and Disaster - Softcover

"Few fields of human enterprise are as morally challenging as humanitarian aid, especially in wartime. Hugo Slim has written the essential handbook of ethical expertise for aid workers, aid organizations and students of ethics and humanitarianism. It is comprehensive, passionate and has the special gift of lucidly exploring moral complexities." -- Alex de Waal, Executive Director, World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School, Tufts University

"Humanitarian workers confront desperately difficult ethical choices every day as they struggle to provide aid in war and disasters. In a field where theory and practice are too seldom aligned Hugo Slim has pulled off a rare feat -- a book that is as useful to the thoughtful aid practitioner as it is to the applied scholar. His analysis is fascinating and this refreshingly frank and practical approaches fornavigating the ethical minefields of work in the world's toughest places will appeal to the frontline aid worker and global humanitarian executive alike." -- Neal Keny-Guyer, Chief Executive Officer at Mercy Corps

"In this brilliant and incisive work, Hugo Slim develops a much needed moral compass that helps aid workers, both seasoned and novice, to navigate the tensions between principle and practice -- as well as the shoals of political manipulation in humanitarian action. An invaluable tool that should be in every humanitarian's grab bag." -- Antonio Donini, editor of The Golden Fleece: Manipulation and Independence in Humanitarian Action

"This book gets to the heart of the often impossible moral dilemmas and persistent ethical problems which confront, challenge and haunt humanitarians. As the sector professionalises and bureaucratises, it will help aid workers, managers and leaders to understand why principles matter more than ever and how they can be used to make better choices. Importantly, it is written from the perspective of someone who cares deeply about humanitarian action and who wants to help those who help others do so with care, compassion and to the highest possible standards." -- Sorcha O'Callaghan, Head of Humanitarian Policy, British Red Cross

"A fascinating and important book that unpack the ethics of the humanitarian enterprise, a critical question at a time when the fundamental values and principles of humanitarianism are being contested by the participation of southern actors. Few books penetrate the fundamental moral and ethical questions of humanitarianism, and even fewer in a language that is accessible to both scholars and practitioners -- a must-read." -- Urvashi Aneja, Director, Centre for Global Governance & Policy, Jindal School of International Affairs, Jindal Global University, India

"Slim writes in a very engaging manner that is both erudite and easy to read, professional and personal at the same time, as humanitarianism must be. One really feels he himself has struggled with many of the dilemmas he describes and is eager to share his experience."
-- The Jordan Times

"Humanitarian workers confront desperately difficult ethical choices every day as they struggle to provide aid in war and disasters. In a field where theory and practice are too seldom aligned Hugo Slim has pulled off a rare feat -- a book that is as useful to the thoughtful aid practitioner as it is to the applied scholar. His analysis is fascinating and this refreshingly frank and practical approaches fornavigating the ethical minefields of work in the world's toughest places will appeal to the frontline aid worker and global humanitarian executive alike."
-- Neal Keny-Guyer, Chief Executive Officer at Mercy Corps

"In this brilliant and incisive work, Hugo Slim develops a much needed moral compass that helps aid workers, both seasoned and novice, to navigate the tensions between principle and practice -- as well as the shoals of political manipulation in humanitarian action. An invaluable tool that should be in every humanitarian's grab bag."
-- Antonio Donini, editor of The Golden Fleece: Manipulation and Independence in Humanitarian Action

"This book gets to the heart of the often impossible moral dilemmas and persistent ethical problems which confront, challenge and haunt humanitarians. As the sector professionalises and bureaucratises, it will help aid workers, managers and leaders to understand why principles matter more than ever and how they can be used to make better choices. Importantly, it is written from the perspective of someone who cares deeply about humanitarian action and who wants to help those who help others do so with care, compassion and to the highest possible standards."
-- Sorcha O'Callaghan, Head of Humanitarian Policy, British Red Cross

"A fascinating and important book that unpack the ethics of the humanitarian enterprise, a critical question at a time when the fundamental values and principles of humanitarianism are being contested by the participation of southern actors. Few books penetrate the fundamental moral and ethical questions of humanitarianism, and even fewer in a language that is accessible to both scholars and practitioners -- a must-read."
-- Urvashi Aneja, Director, Centre for Global Governance & Policy, Jindal School of International Affairs, Jindal Global University, India

"Few fields of human enterprise are as morally challenging as humanitarian aid, especially in wartime. Hugo Slim has written the essential handbook of ethical expertise for aid workers, aid organizations and students of ethics and humanitarianism. It is comprehensive, passionate and has the special gift of lucidly exploring moral complexities."
-- Alex de Waal, Executive Director, World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School, Tufts University

"An extremely well-researched and -argued book on a topic that is highly relevant, especially today. It is written specifically for those in the humanitarian aid/work industry. Anyone thinking of going into the industry, or those who are already in it, would do well to pick up this book."
-- Library Journal

"The book's primary purpose is to develop a better understanding of the ethics and ethical dilemmas of humanitarian work to provide practitioners with the tools to deliver aid practically and ethically. The author contends that although humanitarian professionals are good at expressing their ethics as formal principles, they have failed to adequately examine the applied ethics of humanitarian action. He seeks to fill that gap by applying humanitarian principles to persistent real world ethical problems that practitioners often face in the field, including the potential harmfulness of humanitarian action, difficulties of association, complicity and moral entrapment, duties of care toward humanitarian staff, and the potential problems of humanitarian growth."
--CHOICE

"Slim writes in a very engaging manner that is both erudite and easy to read, professional and personal at the same time, as humanitarianism must be. One really feels he himself has struggled with many of the dilemmas he describes and is eager to share his experience."
-- The Jordan Times

"Humanitarian workers confront desperately difficult ethical choices every day as they struggle to provide aid in war and disasters. In a field where theory and practice are too seldom aligned Hugo Slim has pulled off a rare feat -- a book that is as useful to the thoughtful aid practitioner as it is to the applied scholar. His analysis is fascinating and this refreshingly frank and practical approaches fornavigating the ethical minefields of work in the world's toughest places will appeal to the frontline aid worker and global humanitarian executive alike."
-- Neal Keny-Guyer, Chief Executive Officer at Mercy Corps

"In this brilliant and incisive work, Hugo Slim develops a much needed moral compass that helps aid workers, both seasoned and novice, to navigate the tensions between principle and practice -- as well as the shoals of political manipulation in humanitarian action. An invaluable tool that should be in every humanitarian's grab bag."
-- Antonio Donini, editor of The Golden Fleece: Manipulation and Independence in Humanitarian Action

"This book gets to the heart of the often impossible moral dilemmas and persistent ethical problems which confront, challenge and haunt humanitarians. As the sector professionalises and bureaucratises, it will help aid workers, managers and leaders to understand why principles matter more than ever and how they can be used to make better choices. Importantly, it is written from the perspective of someone who cares deeply about humanitarian action and who wants to help those who help others do so with care, compassion and to the highest possible standards."
-- Sorcha O'Callaghan, Head of Humanitarian Policy, British Red Cross

"A fascinating and important book that unpack the ethics of the humanitarian enterprise, a critical question at a time when the fundamental values and principles of humanitarianism are being contested by the participation of southern actors. Few books penetrate the fundamental moral and ethical questions of humanitarianism, and even fewer in a language that is accessible to both scholars and practitioners -- a must-read."
-- Urvashi Aneja, Director, Centre for Global Governance & Policy, Jindal School of International Affairs, Jindal Global University, India

"Few fields of human enterprise are as morally challenging as humanitarian aid, especially in wartime. Hugo Slim has written the essential handbook of ethical expertise for aid workers, aid organizations and students of ethics and humanitarianism. It is comprehensive, passionate and has the special gift of lucidly exploring moral complexities."
-- Alex de Waal, Executive Director, World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School, Tufts University

"An extremely well-researched and -argued book on a topic that is highly relevant, especially today. It is written specifically for those in the humanitarian aid/work industry. Anyone thinking of going into the industry, or those who are already in it, would do well to pick up this book."
-- Library Journal

"The book's primary purpose is to develop a better understanding of the ethics and ethical dilemmas of humanitarian work to provide practitioners with the tools to deliver aid practically and ethically. The author contends that although humanitarian professionals are good at expressing their ethics as formal principles, they have failed to adequately examine the applied ethics of humanitarian action. He seeks to fill that gap by applying humanitarian principles to persistent real world ethical problems that practitioners often face in the field, including the potential harmfulness of humanitarian action, difficulties of association, complicity and moral entrapment, duties of care toward humanitarian staff, and the potential problems of humanitarian growth."
--CHOICE

"Important and eminently readable . . . masterful . . . a powerful message delivered with brio. His book should be required reading for all frontline aid workers--and even more so for their bosses."--Cambridge Review of International Affairs

Humanitarians are required to be impartial, independent, professionally competent and focused only on preventing and alleviating human suffering. It can be hard living up to these principles when others do not share them, while persuading political and military authorities and non-state actors to let an agency assist on the ground requires savvy ethical skills.

Getting first to a conflict or natural catastrophe is only the beginning, as aid workers are usually and immediately presented with practical and moral questions about what to do next. For example, when does working closely with a warring party or an immoral regime move from practical cooperation to complicity in human rights violations? Should one operate in camps for displaced people and refugees if they are effectively places of internment? Do humanitarian agencies inadvertently encourage ethnic cleansing by always being ready to 'mop-up' the consequences of scorched earth warfare? This book has been written to help humanitarians assess and respond to these and other ethical dilemmas.