Humanitarian Ethics System - Essay Example

According to a recent report by the World Federation of International Societies of the Red Cross and Red Crescent is no longer defensible humanitarian intervention before certain disaster without addressing its causes. This paper 2000 humanitarian ethics system in a concise and comprehensive way. Speaking in the context of twenty first century, humanitarian action is consisted on strong values, norms and standards of 'humanity', from which its name is taken. Humanity, thus, appears as the unshakable link that unites and cements all human beings: a feeling, emotion and a sense that push each person to recognize the other as his or her equal and fellow human being.

Most ethical theories in the ancient world were forms of virtue ethics, but in the era of 2000 there have, until recently, been few virtue ethicists. Most moral theories of 2000 treat rightness as a matter of producing good results or conforming to moral rules or principles, but virtue ethics specifies what is moral in relation to such inner factors as character and motive, and unlike most modern views, it treats aretaic notions like "admirable" and "excellent" - rather than deontic concepts like "ought," "right," and "obligatory" - as fundamental to the enterprise of ethics (Slote, 2007).

Slote (2007) mentions that in its 2003 report on disasters, the International Federation of Societies of Red Cross and Red Crescent, in addition to analyzing some timely topics such as famine in southern Africa, the conflict between power and ethics in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, the phenomenon of forced migration, framed conceptually ethics humanitarian disasters and wars, reflect on the measurement of disasters (challenges, opportunities and ethics) and provide data on disasters and refugees.

Regarding the famine in early 2003 affected 15 million people in southern Africa, the document denounces lack of foresight, inefficiency and delay in implementing the aid. The combination of this disaster with the HIV / AIDS and poverty dramatically complicates the situation and generates questions about the relevance of certain intervene in conflicts without attacking its structural causes (Slote, 2007).Jacques (2003) discusses that another example of the difficulties of international aid to solve basic problems is the situation in Afghanistan, where in many aspects of security and human rights were compounded since the invasion of the allied troops led by the United States.

Also the phenomenon of forced migration (175 million people living outside their homeland) raises ethical and legal problems related to humanitarian aid and citizenship and their rights. The humanitarian ethics is guided by two principles: neutrality and independence. These are the basis of a code of conduct for humanitarian aid which has acceded to over 200 organizations worldwide. However, the Federation of Societies of Red Cross and Red Crescent noted that compliance with these principles has been uneven.

Humanitarian assistance tends to