Human Rights Education Associates

Human Rights in Humanitarian Action and Disaster Relief (Foundation Course)

17 September-28 October 2014 (E10114) | Closed
Instructor
: Gretchen Alther

Humanitarian response, guided by the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence, seeks to provide life-saving support and timely recovery for those affected by natural and man-made crises. Today, the global humanitarian sector continues to grow alongside the number of disasters and vulnerable people around the world. Humanitarian actors at all levels of response are faced with complex situations that require prompt, principled, and people-centred action.

This e-learning course introduces staff members of local, national, and international humanitarian organisations, as well as those with a general interest in humanitarian action, to the underlying principles of humanitarianism and the realities and challenges of the sector. The course reviews the structure of the humanitarian system and examines crosscutting themes through which course participants can identify and understand vulnerabilities of people affected by disaster. Participants will learn about many of practical aspects of humanitarian work and the unique conditions of working in humanitarian crises. The course will also review some of the critical and emerging challenges facing the humanitarian sector. Participants completing the course will have gained a basic overview of the global humanitarian sector from a rights-based perspective.