Today’s wars involve systems of co-operation between (among others) military actors and aid agencies. According to International Humanitarian Law, among the most important principles of humanitarian aid are unconditionality and impartiality – non-combatants are entitled to assistance and protection on the basis of need and not according to their political affiliation, religion, race or creed; or indeed as a factor in a military strategy. This principle is undermined by the increasing militarisation of international humanitarian action within a wider trend towards the politicisation of aid; like it or not, aid has become a key instrument of foreign and security policy for many states.
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