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TI Working Paper
Transparency International
Transparency International
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Abstract
"The need to counter corruption in humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is given to assist those affected by natural disasters, human conflict or other forms of severe political, economic or social breakdowns. Its aim is to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the context of life-threatening situations. This is mainly done through the short-term provision of food, water, shelter and emergency services to affected areas, though initial humanitarian operations often evolve into longer-term reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts. Corruption in humanitarian aid undermines the fundamental purpose of humanitarian action. 2 Its effects include the diversion of relief supplies away from affected communities, inequitable distribution of aid and sub-standard or inappropriately located infrastructure. Such outcomes ignore the needs of the intended beneficiaries of aid, often further marginalising those from the poorest sections of society and deepening existing social conflicts. Tackling corruption in humanitarian aid is therefore key to ensuring effective and equitable humanitarian assistance to those in greatest need. TI has worked to address the risk of corruption in humanitarian aid on several levels. Following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, TI national chapters in affected countries sought to strengthen the accountability of national relief operations through their advocacy and capacity building work. The TI-Secretariat, meanwhile, helped bring together key stakeholders at an experts meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, where representatives of affected countries identified measures to protect tsunami aid from corruption. TI organised a similar meeting in Islamabad to address the risk of corruption following Pakistan’s severe earthquake of October 2005. At a global level, TI is supporting the humanitarian community’s work to increase transparency and accountability through its Programme on Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Assistance. Ultimately, TI‘s goal is to help ensure that affected individuals and communities can rebuild their lives without enduring additional hardship due to the corrupt misuse of aid. This Working Paper is intended to provide an overview of corruption in humanitarian aid from TI’s perspective as the leading civil society coalition against corruption. It explains why humanitarian aid is at risk from corruption, what can potentially be done to minimise these risks and concludes with suggestions for further investigation and action. We hope this paper will help inform and guide the ongoing work of the many organisations engaged with this issue – including a number of TI’s national chapters worldwide."(pg 1)
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2006
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With permission of the license/copyright holder