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
Humanitarian assistance in siege contexts: a contradiction in terms?
Duncan McLean, Maelle L’Homme
04.12.2023This contribution attempts to explore the contradiction between a strategy of exhaustion aiming to establish the conditions for the besieged party to surrender, and the legal and moral imperative of …
Article
Benefiting some more than others: humanitarian disruption in conflict settings
Maelle L’Homme
23.11.2023In March 2022, intercommunal fighting forced Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to suspend its activities after nearly fourteen years of operating in Agok, a small town located in the disputed Abyei…
Article
Are we using the right terms to describe the situation in Gaza?
Françoise Duroch
21.11.2023On 6 November, António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, called for an immediate halt to the bombings in the Gaza Strip, highlighting a nightmarish situation for civilian…
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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