The Role of The Humanitarian Negotiator in the Global Chain of Humanitarian Diplomacy

Humanitarian diplomacy and humanitarian negotiation are inherently intertwined and interdependent, and form part of the same concept. While the Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation’s (CCHN) community members are familiar with humanitarian negotiation in their day-to-day work, the concept of humanitarian diplomacy is perhaps perplexing when applied to an operational context. What does it actually mean? In this article, I discuss the relationship between humanitarian negotiation and humanitarian diplomacy, and how the latter can be understood through examples of its practice.

This article has been created for and published by the Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation (CCHN), a joint initiative of World Food Programme, UNHCR, International Committee of the Red Cross, Humanitarian Dialogue and Médecins Sans Frontières. The Centre of Competence facilitates the capture, analysis and sharing of humanitarian negotiation experiences and practices with a view to supporting a more systematic approach to frontline negotiation. It provides a space for multiagency dialogue and intends to foster a community of practice among humanitarian negotiators.