Book
Humanitarian Myths and Hubris: A Critical Self-Portrait from Médecins Sans Frontières
Duncan McLean, Françoise Duroch, Maelle L'Homme, Melissa McRae
22.01.2026This collective work offers a critical analysis of contemporary humanitarian action, through the prism of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Article
What “solidarity” means for MSF: the uses and applications of a notion
Maelle L'Homme
03.09.2025A central concept in humanitarian discourse, international solidarity has established itself as a hallmark of emergency and development interventions. But what does this widely used term truly...
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
Pratiques délictueuses aux portes de l’Europe
Françoise Duroch, Maelle L'Homme
15.11.2023Reports of violence at Greece's borders have multiplied in recent years. A report published in November 2023 by MSF documents the harsh realities experienced by migrants on arrival in Greece, based...
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
Ethical considerations around the use of humanitarian imagery
Françoise Duroch, Maelle L'Homme
29.11.2022The growth of social media has reduced the world to a “global village” in which images travel fast and far. When they feature vulnerable people, the impact can be disastrous. Starting from a...
Article
Humanitarian corridors: negotiated exceptions at risk of manipulation
Maelle L'Homme
26.05.2022In the absence of a normative framework, the concept of humanitarian corridor lacks a consistent definition and is highly vulnerable to political interpretation. The notion underwent multiple...
Article
Silent wounds
Maelle L'Homme
10.03.2022In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic made visible to the general public some of the many challenges associated with humanitarian work. Suddenly mortality rates, shortages of medical supplies and the...
Article
Humanitarian corridors in Ukraine: the illusion of an ideal solution
Françoise Duroch, Maelle L'Homme
10.03.2022"Humanitarian corridor". In just a few days, these two words have become a common theme in public speeches about Ukraine, evoking the illusion of an ideal solution to the suffering of people trapped ...
Article
Humanitarian discourse and the challenges of migration: the European exception?
Maelle L'Homme
16.12.2021Are non-governmental organisations also guilty of double standards? Reviewing humanitarian actors’ approaches to migration in Europe, the author analyses the demands, intentions and dilemmas that...