The development of an Independent Humanitarian Watch (IHW) remains an appealing project to many and is one of UAI’s core objectives.
Workshop
Boston University (BU) has recently allocated US$15,000 for a workshop to be held in May 2020 dedicated to identifying ways and means of generating comparable data on the indirect consequences of war and resultant excess mortality, while taking account of experience to date in documenting direct, battlefield deaths. The workshop will be co-organised by UAI, BU and the Costs of War programme at Brown University. Currently, UAI is consulting with the UN, NGOs and other entities engaged in documenting patterns of harm such as the impact, for civilians, of destroyed health care and other such infrastructure to ascertain lessons learned and experiences to date. The views and insights of one and all in this subject area are most welcome and can be communicated to
Case studies
UAI has developed crisis-specific Terms Of Reference for two case studies, including a low-profile situation of significant humanitarian concern in Africa and the other in Afghanistan, where the war has now entered its 41st year. Some preliminary steps, including discussions with key stakeholders and others familiar with these crisis settings, have been undertaken. UAI has allocated a small amount of non-earmarked resources for the study in Africa while simultaneously making a dedicated effort to mobilise required financial backing to allow both studies to go forward. Both studies will contribute to the ongoing development of the IHW.
