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Articles authored by Slim, Hugo

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What is development?
The author presents his views on the essential ingredients of development, comparing the development ideal with its reality. Development is about change for the better, which must be appropriate (culturally, economically, technologically etc.) if change is to take root, and gain the participation of beneficiaries. Equity and justice are at the heart of any change for the better, as is sustainability. True development cannot be measured in solely economic terms, but must also include changes in the quality of lives, which are less tangible.

Articles

Relief agencies and moral standing in war: principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and solidarity
The article explores the moral difficulties for international humanitarian workers operating as third parties in the midst of war. The main part examines current usage of the terms `humanity', `neutrality', `impartiality', and `solidarity' as they are used in the discourse of humanitarian operations. The article then considers the psychological implications for relief workers of operating as non-combatant third parties in war.
Dissolving the difference between humanitarianism and development: the mixing of a rights-based solution
The conventional (but false) dichotomy between humanitarianism and development, hitherto grounded in the perceived differences between international humanitarian law and international human rights law respectively, is not merely unhelpful in practical terms but also serves to diminish our understanding of the shared issues underlying the two discourses. There are welcome signs, however, of a growing recognition that all development and relief work is essentially rights-based and of efforts to integrate thinking and practice under one common set of principles.