Global Philanthropy Forum

Individuals face mortal peril when the state they inhabit collapses into chaos or violent conflict. The loss of human life can be attributed not only to the violence that ensues but also to the widespread deprivation that results. In an important move forward, the international community embraced the norm of the “Responsibility to Protect,” this asserts that states are required to protect their citizens from mass atrocities. However, the international community is loath to intervene when states fail to meet this most basic obligation. They rely instead on UN agencies that provide relief as well as policing when possible. Working alongside these agencies are nongovernmental organizations, which offer traditional relief—shelter, food, water, health care—aswell as assistance in mediating an end to the conflict and creating mechanisms for post-conflict reconciliation. They in turn rely on the support of donors, ranging from individual governments, to large staffed foundations to individual