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The core humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, as they are borne out of International Humanitarian Law and enshrined in the Red Cross/Red Crescent Code of Conduct for Humanitarian Action, provide a value base that underpins the day-to-day operations of humanitarian organisations in situations of both natural disasters and conflict.

In particular in politicised and insecure environments, these principles can lay the foundations for trust and acceptance of assistance which enable NGOs, the Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies and UN agencies to operate.

At the heart of these principles is the concept of humanity, which encapsulates a universally shared belief in the fundamental dignity of every human being and requires that we provide help in their hour of need. For Caritas, as a confederation of 163 Catholic relief, development and social service organisations working to build a better world, the concept of humanity is seen, ultimately, as rooted in the Divine, introduced by Scripture and Catholic Social Teaching. Being created in the image of God, a human person is not just something but someone, with an indispensable value. This belief shapes and drives our work in Caritas.

This report uses the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid (adopted in 2007) as a policy framework to examine adherence to humanitarian principles on the part of the European Union and its Member States. Caritas Europa, a network of 49 Caritas organisations on the European continent, hopes that it provides a useful contribution to on-going debates around the humanitarian principles in the context of, and the challenges posed by, a fast changing EU institutional environment. We encourage Caritas organisations to renew their efforts to promote and defend these principles in the course of their humanitarian response work as well as in policy and advocacy discussions with humanitarian donors and European Union Member States.