What level of information exchange should there be between humanitarians and the military?

11/09/2009

The number of civilian humanitarian actors – both NGOs and state and multi-state bodies - has exploded. Increasingly, these organisations find themselves side by side with military forces in the field. This cohabitation is not always easy and various guidelines, references and doctrines have been drawn up to make relations less conflictual, such as the Oslo guidelines and the CIMIC doctrine, which attempt to clarify the different roles and mandates of humanitarian and military actors. The issue of information exchange between these two parties continues to be a subject of debate.