Humanitarian purpose needs to change - Saving humans is not enough : Hugo Slim / The New Humanitarian
Article shared by Paula Claycomb
This article in The New Humanitarian may be of interest to the x-UNICEF network, whether we worked on development or humanitarian issues. I find the concept of "anticipatory action" very interesting. The core argument of Hugo Slim's essay is stated in one of his last sentences: "If we want to live through the Earth emergency, we must show humanity to other life around us.
This article in The New Humanitarian may be of interest to the x-UNICEF network, whether we worked on development or humanitarian issues. I find the concept of "anticipatory action" very interesting. The core argument of Hugo Slim's essay is stated in one of his last sentences: "If we want to live through the Earth emergency, we must show humanity to other life around us.
Thanks Paula
‘There can be no human life without other life. This resets the core humanitarian challenge.’
This article argues for a radical shift in humanitarian action to address the global climate crisis, dubbed an "Earth emergency." It proposes a "Humanitarianism 2.0" that integrates human and ecological concerns.
Key points:
Redefine humanitarian principles to include nature
Adopt forward-looking, precautionary approaches
Shift to landscape-based assessments and responses
Merge humanitarian and ecological agencies
Key quotes:
"Saving humans is not enough; humanitarian purpose needs to change."
'We urgently need this shake-up of international mandates and institutions to create a new set of agencies for the Earth emergency.
Like today’s humanitarian principles, our institutions were designed for earlier problems. In his important analysis, Long Problems, Thomas Hale talks about “institutional lag”, when society faces new challenges with institutions bogged down in old practices. We must avoid this, and build new international organisations with 21st century mandates.
"We are earthlings, and it is self-defeating to prioritise humanity alone."
"Planning from the future, rather than the past, needs to become the norm in humanitarian action."
"We urgently need this shake-up of international mandates and institutions to create a new set of agencies for the Earth emergency."
Survival requires finding "life-saving harmony between humanity and nature."
Click here for the article in The New Humanitarian
* Hugo Slim is Senior Research Fellow at the Las Casas Institute for Social Justice at Blackfriars Hall at the University of Oxford. His new book is Humanitarianism 2.0 – New Ethics for the Climate Emergency
.jpeg) |
| Hugo Slim* |
‘There can be no human life without other life. This resets the core humanitarian challenge.’
This article argues for a radical shift in humanitarian action to address the global climate crisis, dubbed an "Earth emergency." It proposes a "Humanitarianism 2.0" that integrates human and ecological concerns.
Key points:
Redefine humanitarian principles to include nature
Adopt forward-looking, precautionary approaches
Shift to landscape-based assessments and responses
Merge humanitarian and ecological agencies
Key quotes:
"Saving humans is not enough; humanitarian purpose needs to change."
'We urgently need this shake-up of international mandates and institutions to create a new set of agencies for the Earth emergency.
Like today’s humanitarian principles, our institutions were designed for earlier problems. In his important analysis, Long Problems, Thomas Hale talks about “institutional lag”, when society faces new challenges with institutions bogged down in old practices. We must avoid this, and build new international organisations with 21st century mandates.
"We are earthlings, and it is self-defeating to prioritise humanity alone."
"Planning from the future, rather than the past, needs to become the norm in humanitarian action."
"We urgently need this shake-up of international mandates and institutions to create a new set of agencies for the Earth emergency."
Survival requires finding "life-saving harmony between humanity and nature."
Click here for the article in The New Humanitarian
* Hugo Slim is Senior Research Fellow at the Las Casas Institute for Social Justice at Blackfriars Hall at the University of Oxford. His new book is Humanitarianism 2.0 – New Ethics for the Climate Emergency
Comments
Post a Comment
If you are a member of XUNICEF, you can comment directly on a post. Or, send your comments to us at xunicef.news.views@gmail.com and we will publish them for you.