GPF Associate Sarah Kleinman speaks with Catherine Dumait-Harper, who served as the UN Delegate of Médecins Sans Frontières from 1993 to 2005, about the integration of military and humanitarian affairs in conflict. During this period, she coordinated MSF's advocacy efforts related to the conflicts in East Timor, Kosovo, Afghanistan, West Africa, and elsewhere. In this interview, Catherine discusses the need to keep military operations distinct from humanitarian activities because this "blurring of lines" has led to confusion, tension, and increased vulnerability for aid workers in the field. She also argues that by overlapping security and humanitarian roles, many international organizations--both military and civilian--have violated international humanitarian law.
