principles of humanity, impartiality and neutrality, as
stated in General Assembly Resolution 46/182. 206
The Somalian Crisis started when President Siad Barre was overthrown in January 1991. The outcome of this was clan warfare and a battle for power between the factions supporting Interim President Ali Mahdi Mohamed and General Mohamed Farah Aidid. 207 The conflict caused a poor harvest; resulting in a famine that swept through the country: “almost 4.5 million people in Somalia, over half of the estimated population were threatened by severe malnutrition and malnutrition-related disease”. 208 This constituted humanitarian action by United Nations (U.N.) institutions and NGOs. The first negative impact that arises with the provision of humanitarian aid, that this essay will address, is the problems that can surface through the provision of food aid. Food aid is mainly used as an emergency relief. The “proportion of World Food Program Emergency operations due to "man-made dis- asters" rose from 35% (1975) to 95% (1993)””. 209 It is designed to safeguard the nutritional status of humans and preserve life. 210 With the fighting occurring within Somalia and a famine rampaging through the country 206 Reliefweb Project, 'RELIEFWEB GLOSSARY OF HUMANITARIAN TERMS' 2008. 207 United Nations, UNITED NATIONS OPERATION IN SOMALIA I (UNOSOM I) - background (full text) , <http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/unosom1backgr 2.html#four> [accessed 6 December 2016 208 Ibid. 209 Frances Stewart, 'Food aid during conflict: Can One reconcile its humanitarian, economic, and political economy effects?', American Journal of Agricultural Economics , iii, 80 (1998), 560–565 210 Ibid.
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