Humanitarian assistance during armed conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

The current study looked at the International Humanitarian Law Frameworks on humanitarian assistance and access in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers wanted to determine whether or not these rules adequately protect civilians in conflict-affected territories when a health pandemic doubles the negative impacts suffered by victims of armed conflict. The COVID-19 pandemic had enormous and terrible impacts on the whole population of the world, but these effects were felt to an even greater degree by populations living in areas of active conflict. Humanitarian aid in these countries is critical in saving lives during the major crisis created by the convergence of COVID-19 pandemic and the various armed conflicts. It was therefore important that the rules that guarantee these populations’ protection in such a case be assessed. Using academic, desk-based research methods, this study looked at the rules regulating humanitarian aid as found in the lex specialis of the law of armed conflict which is International Humanitarian Law. It found that under International Humanitarian Law the parties to a conflict have the primary responsibility to provide humanitarian assistance to the civilian population under their control. In the case of COVID-19, this includes the need to provide Personal Protective Equipment, medication, and other resources required to combat the epidemic. It was also established that if and when a party is unable to provide these provisions, IHL gives the right to impartial humanitarian organisations to come in and offer assistance subject to the consent of parties to a conflict in International Armed Conflicts and Non-International Armed Conflicts, which consent cannot be denied arbitrarily. The requirement for consent is not applicable in military occupations where the Occupying Power must accept relief from impartial humanitarian organisations when it is unwilling or unable to meet the needs of the population under its control. The research concluded, after an analysis of the applicable rules, that IHL frameworks on humanitarian assistance have a significant gap, which can be filled by adopting a human rights-based approach to humanitarian assistance. These entails applying IHL and IHRL principles together. Key words : COVID-19, Humanitarian assistance, humanitarian access, humanitarian law, human rights law, relief operations.