Human Rights and International Legal Standards: What Do Relief Workers Need to Know?

Exploring basic moral and legal framework of human rights, this papers looks at issues of responsibility, protection and enforcement in the light of international legal obligations. Relating this to the work of humanitarian agencies in their attempts to provide assistance and protection to communities affected by conflict and other disasters, its main chapters explore:

- Different traditions: human rights and humanitarianism
- Moral and legal rights
- Human rights in law
- Responsibility for protection and enforcement
- Human rights in armed conflict
- Human rights, refugees and internal displacement
- Protection and assistance

The paper aims to enhance the understanding of the moral and legal basis for the concept of human rights invoked in the context of humanitarian emergencies, in order to increase accountability and achieve more focused and effective advocacy.