Conference Program
| Session | ||
1.2.1: Governance & Policy
Session Topics: Governance & Policy
#203 [Roundtable] IDS, International Humanitarian Law and Global Health/ Theory and Practice in Palestine | ||
| Presentations | ||
IDS, International Humanitarian Law and Global Health/ Theory and Practice in Palestine The contemporary humanitarian landscape reveals serious challenges to the values and principles that underpin international humanitarian action —the very values we continue to teach as universal, apolitical, and protective in our classrooms. These tensions raise urgent questions about the theory and practice of Int’l development and humanitarian action, particularly as related to their effectiveness, enforceability and consistency in contexts marked by prolonged violence and political exceptionalism. The case of Palestine offers a critical lens through which to examine these contradictions. Palestinians living under Israeli occupation have long relied on international aid organizations for their everyday needs including food, water, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation, and medical supplies and care. Yet, humanitarian access has been systematically constrained. International aid organizations have faced severe and prolonged restrictions on access, with dozens of organizations forced to quit operations under occupation policies, putting at risk the delivery of humanitarian aid to millions who face acute needs. Rather than simply documenting conditions on the ground, this panel critically examines how humanitarian access is undermined in contexts where legal norms and protections are unevenly applied. It asks: How does humanitarian exceptionalism undermine the sector’s stated values and principles? What responsibilities do INGOs and UN agencies have when protection fails? And, crucially, what lessons can global and international studies and practitioners draw about the gaps between humanitarian ideals and practice? It offers a case study within Palestinian healthcare to challenge dominant humanitarian models that frame shortages as logistical failures to be corrected through delivery, and instead highlights adaptation, improvisation, and local technical capacity as central to survival. Ultimately, this panel argues that the case of Palestine exposes a structural contradiction within international humanitarianism: while the sector claims universality, neutrality, and protection, its principles are selectively enforced in ways that undermine both effectiveness and legitimacy. Presentations of the Symposium Decolonizing International Development Studies Dr.Vida shahada, Professor- Centennial College and Board Member of several NGOs. International Development Studies (IDS) draws on a wide range of theories and critiques and has increasingly emphasized decolonization, anti-racism, intersectionality, and critiques of white saviorism. Academia can be transformative and liberating, but it can also serve as a space for reproducing colonial views. The absence of Palestine from IDS curriculum raises the question of whether IDS can be meaningfully decolonized. Critical, anti-colonial perspectives, alongside core development concerns—such as global health, displacement, children’s rights, and environmental protection—can be examined through real-time events in Palestine. This session will reflect on this gap and its implications for developing a genuinely decolonized curriculum. Core Principles of Humanitarian Response and Humanitarian Law Dalia Al-Awqati, Deputy Director- Humanitarian Affairs at Oxfam Canada will focus on the core principles of humanitarian response and humanitarian law. Humanitarian action comes with principles enshrined within international humanitarian law, evolved practices, and minimum standards for aid delivery to be applied globally. Yet in the world’s most complex crises, these standards are becoming impossible to uphold. The protections of international law are no longer sufficient to protect aid agencies and workers, and core standards \ such as SPHERE (https://spherestandards.org/) have been more challenged during the last two years of humanitarian response in Gaza. During the panel, we will unpack why these challenges have arisen and what are the real life implications of this gap between theory and practice. Healthcare Under Siege Dr. Dorotea Gucciardo, Director of Development at Glia Equal Care and faculty at King’s University College at Western, will provide eyewitness testimony to healthcare under siege and discuss the ingenuity of health workers operating within this system that has completely collapsed. She will also explore the ways in which international intervention has hindered, rather than alleviated, an unfolding humanitarian disaster that demands urgent attention. The session will showcase the practical aspects of operating a health care under conditions of systemic failure Centering and Amplifying the Voices of Affected Communities Danny Glenwright, President and Chief Executive Officer at Save the Children Canada, will share the experience from Save the Children and its work as a dual mandate organization that works in more than 110 countries to help children to survive and thrive. Beyond service delivery, he will elaborate on how international humanitarian organizations, particularly those in Canada, engage and influence government policy in their local contexts to advance justice and uphold international law. This includes Save the Children’s experience and learning around amplifying the voices of affected children and communities to support advocacy efforts and address existing power imbalances. | ||