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percentage is even greater than 33.9% of the resources utilized for operational activities and other programmes in the economic and social sectors. Furthermore, in the past few years there has been a general tendency for a quantitative increase in absolute terms of humanitarian assistance around the world.
As to the origin of humanitarian assistance, William Shawcross says in his book The Quality of Mercy: "Humanitarian aid is often required because of abject political failure. It is neither intended, nor is it able, to resolve political crises that governments have created or at least failed to address." And as to its effects with reference to our Kampuchean operation, he goes on to say that "in the case of Cambodia one of the effects of humanitarian aid was to reinforce the political stalemate.
零售
Having
These observations by Shawcross certainly point to the political implications - its pitfalls as well as its constructive potentials. regard to the recent tendency for quantitative increase and in view of the political implications, I believe that there is a definite need for a new policy science or political economy of humanitarian assistance in the world today. For the sake of such new discipline, I am sure it would be useful to identify and address several conceptual issues, some of which may be mentioned in passing:
may ask:
Firstly, from the viewpoint of optimum resource utilization, one
- Are the operational concepts of effectiveness and efficiency always compatible? And if not, should we apply differential emphasis in different phases and contexts?
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How can we make the short-term and long-term humanitarian objectives mutually compatible?
How can we avoid being drawn into the perpetuation of humanitarian aid?
Secondly, as regards the substance of humanitarian assistance, one may ask, for instance:
Can we devise a useful strategy for applying differential emphasis on various elements of assistance, ranging from bare essentials for physical survival to human resource development and promotion of social and cultural programmes?
Can there be a case for a gradualist approach towards a solution of political impasse through a humanitarian pathway?
/Thirdly,