Protection of Children in Humanitarian Crises

There is debate within the international community over what constitutes an appropriate set of goals and approaches to humanitarian crises. On the one hand, traditionalists believe that saving lives is the sole purpose and argue for a limited set of activities to accomplish this objective. On the other hand, recent experiences in ‘complex emergencies’ and ‘failed states’ have pointed to the need to not only respond to immediate needs, but to also search for ways to tackle underlying causes of longstanding problems and link emergency responses to sustainable development. More and more, humanitarian actors are speaking in terms of holistic approaches that consider the consequences of actions taken and seek to make a broader, longer-term impact. However, there is scant evidence that the international community actually knows how to take on this more expansive vision of humanitarian response and ‘build back better.’