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Practical Note: Humanitarian aid in contexts of violence, insecurity, and rebellion since January 2025

This note outlines the dilemmas and risks associated with the delivery of emergency humanitarian aid in a context of growing insecurity, such as that in North and South Kivu since January 2025. It draws on the guiding principles of Conflict Sensitivity (inclusivity, accountability and transparency) and the humanitarian principles (humanity, independence, neutrality and impartiality), and explains how to apply them in such a context.

This note, which can serve as a practical guide, aims to recapitulate certain fundamental concepts of conflict sensitivity in order to minimise the risks that aid in such a context might exacerbate the conflict(s), and to maximise the opportunities for peace and social cohesion offered by the provision of aid. The legal framework, guiding principles and procedures for accessing humanitarian aid, as set out in framework documents, will be presented, after which the main dilemmas and risks associated with the delivery of aid in the extreme context currently prevailing in the eastern DRC, and the basic guidelines for mitigating them, will be highlighted.