A research report submitted to the Faculty of Law, Commerce and Management, University
of the Witwatersrand, in 50% fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of
Management (in the field of Security).
June, 2016 / This study explores civilians’ perceptions on the impartiality of the international
humanitarian organization (IHO) Médecins sans Frontières (MSF). This is done through
engaging participants from countries where MSF operates and has experienced different
challenges in delivering humanitarian aid to civilians. The countries include the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Somalia. A basic interpretive approach was used to explore
and interpret participants’ perceptions. Interviews were conducted with groups of participants
based on their respective countries of origin. The interview questions and guide were
developed using indicators of impartiality which the researcher formulated based on varying
literature and definition of impartiality, independence and neutrality as the core humanitarian
principles that guide the work of MSF together with many other IHOs. Participants expressed
their perceptions on the impartiality of MSF through reflecting on associations they made
between the IHO and parties they considered to have vested interests in humanitarian crises.
These parties included Western countries, the military and persons perceived to have
discriminatory and colonial intentions. Upon analysis of these perceptions, it becomes clear
that MSF, as an IHO that holds itself to operate according to the humanitarian principles of
independence, neutrality and impartiality, needs to reflect on how it builds its identity in
order to mitigate perceptions that may have potential to hinder its ability to access and assist
civilians affected by humanitarian crises. / MT2016
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/21512 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Kanju, Fezile |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | Online resource (79 leaves), application/pdf |
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