The Research Unit of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Switzerland was created in 2006 and aims to improve the way MSF projects are implemented in the field and to participate in critical thinking on humanitarian and medical action, notably by producing publications and organizing conferences and debates.
Latest publications

Article
"In Niger, the population has been taken hostage"
Françoise Duroch
20.09.2023Since 30 July, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has imposed a series of sanctions against Niger: commercial and financial transactions have been suspended, the country’s air…

Article
«Asyl zu verkaufen» – völkerrechtlicher Schutz in Zeiten von Outsourcing
Maelle L’Homme
28.08.2023After the USA and Australia, several European countries are also developing strategies aimed at reducing their reception obligations towards asylum seekers. Maelle L’Homme reflects on the danger of…

Article
International Humanitarian Law, State sovereignty and the erosion of the humanitarian consensus: the end of humanitarianism?
Duncan McLean
22.07.2023This article examines the dilution of the legal framework on which humanitarian action has historically been based, primarily through the prism of international humanitarian law and related…
Ongoing projects
JOURNAL OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS
Duncan McLean is an editor at the JHA, an open access journal contributing to current thinking around humanitarian governance, policy and practice, and challenging contributors and readers to think critically about humanitarian issues.
Latest issueMORAL EXPERIENCES
This ongoing project acknowledges the importance of moral questions in the conduct of humanitarian action and provides staff with a space to share stories and strategies to prevent or alleviate moral distress.
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