MYP History Topic Humanitarian Crises Revision Notes

Why does inaction matter in humanitarian crises?

Definition

Humanitarian Crisis

A humanitarian crisis is a situation where large numbers of people face serious threats to their life, health, safety, or basic well-being because of events such as conflict, natural disasters, disease outbreaks, or economic collapse.

Humanitarian crises, wars, famines, genocides, displacement, escalate when governments, institutions, or the international community fail to act.
Inaction allows suffering to multiply, violence to spread, and systems to collapse.

Analogy

A humanitarian crisis is like a house fire, if no one responds quickly, it grows too large to control.

Exam technique

Show cause → inaction → escalation → impact on civilians.

How Does Inaction Worsen Crises?

1. Crises grow when governments ignore early warnings

Most crises show warning signs long before they become catastrophic:
1. rising hate speech
2. food shortages
3. failing health systems
4. conflict between groups
5. breakdown of rule of law
When leaders deny or minimise these early problems, they lose precious time to intervene.

Example

Somalia (1991–present)
- In the late 1980s, the Somali government was collapsing:
  - armed groups were forming,
  - food shortages were spreading,
  - local leaders warned of famine.
- No coordinated international response came, and by 1991 the government fell completely.
- This political vacuum led to civil war, warlord rule, and severe famines, including the devastating famine of 2011, which killed around 260,000 people: half of them children.

2. Inaction allows violence and discrimination to escalate

When those in power do nothing, perpetrators feel confident they can act without consequences.

Example

Rwanda (1994): before genocide began
- Hate radio stations (like RTLM) broadcasted violent propaganda for months, describing Tutsi people as “cockroaches.”
- Militias such as the Interahamwe trained openly and compiled lists of people to kill.
- UN peacekeepers on the ground warned that weapons stockpiles were being distributed.
- Yet the international community did nothing significant.
- When the genocide began, violence escalated with terrifying speed: 800,000 people were murdered in 100 days.

3. Institutions weaken when crises are ignored

If hospitals, schools, courts, or food systems collapse and no help arrives, crises turn into humanitarian catastrophes.

Example

Yemen (2015–present)
- Years of conflict destroyed hospitals, water systems, and food markets.
- The government was too weak to coordinate humanitarian relief.
- When international actors hesitated to deliver aid or pressure warring parties, systems collapsed:
  - Cholera outbreaks spread to over 2 million cases, the largest modern outbreak.
  - 80% of Yemen’s population became dependent on aid.
  - Millions of children suffered acute malnutrition.

Analogy

Think of a city where the water stops running: after a few days, health systems break; after weeks, everything collapses.

4. Delayed response makes solutions much harder

Once a crisis becomes severe:
1. diseases spread
2. famine grows
3. refugee flows increase
4. infrastructure collapses
5. costs skyrocket
6. rebuilding becomes far more difficult

Example

Syria (2011–present)
- What began as peaceful protests was met with violence by the Assad government.
- International inaction during early repression allowed armed conflict to grow into a full-scale civil war.
- By the time global powers intervened:
  - the conflict had splintered into dozens of militias,
  - extremist groups like ISIS had formed,
  - 6.8 million Syrians had fled as refugees,
  - cities like Aleppo were destroyed.

5. International inaction worsens suffering

Countries and global institutions (UN, EU, AU) sometimes hesitate due to:
1. political risk
2. cost
3. fear of military involvement
4. national interests
5. lack of agreement
This hesitation allows crises to become too large to manage.

Example

Darfur, Sudan (2003–present)
- When conflict escalated between Sudanese government forces and local groups, villages were burned, civilians were massacred, and women were systematically abused.
- Despite clear evidence of atrocities, global powers hesitated due to political uncertainty, lack of strategic interest, and disagreement in the UN Security Council.
- Over 2.5 million people were displaced, and violence continues in new forms today.

6. Inaction creates power vacuums

When governments collapse or withdraw, armed groups, militias, or extremist organisations fill the gap.

Example

Rise of ISIS (2014–2017)
- After the Iraq War, weak government institutions and poor reconstruction left many areas without safety, jobs, or functioning services.
- As the Syrian Civil War deepened, large regions were left ungoverned.
- ISIS filled this vacuum by capturing territory across Syria and Iraq, taking control of cities like Mosul, enforcing violent rule, and launching global terror attacks.

7. Human cost of inaction

Crises worsen for the most vulnerable:
1. children face malnutrition
2. women risk violence and exploitation
3. refugees lose homes and support
4. elders and disabled people are left behind
5. entire communities become dependent on aid

Example

Rohingya Crisis (Myanmar, 2017–present)
- When Myanmar forces began attacking Rohingya communities, burning villages and committing mass atrocities, international actors hesitated to intervene.
- By the time action was taken, over 700,000 Rohingya had fled to Bangladesh.
- Camps became overcrowded; children lacked education; diseases spread rapidly.
- Inaction has allowed this crisis to remain unresolved, with the Rohingya still stateless.

Case study

The Rwandan Genocide (1994)

What happened?
- Tensions between Hutu and Tutsi groups escalated over decades.
- Warning signs (hate radio, militias, political assassinations) were clear.
How inaction worsened the crisis
- The UN had peacekeepers but lacked authority to intervene.
- Major powers refused to send reinforcements.
- Borders and safe zones were not secured.
- Hate speech and organised killings intensified unchecked.
Result:
- Around 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were murdered in just 100 days.
- The world later acknowledged that early action could have prevented mass killing.
Why this case shows the cost of inaction
- It illustrates how hesitation, political disagreement, and fear of intervention can lead to catastrophic human loss.
- A small, early intervention could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

Active recall

Why do early warning signs matter in preventing humanitarian crises?
How can local or international inaction allow violence to escalate?
What happens to institutions like hospitals and courts when governments fail to act?
Why is early intervention often more effective than late response?
How does the Rwandan genocide illustrate the dangers of global inaction?

Why does inaction matter in humanitarian crises?

Definition

Humanitarian Crisis

Humanitarian crises, wars, famines, genocides, displacement, escalate when governments, institutions, or the international community fail to act.
Inaction allows suffering to multiply, violence to spread, and systems to collapse.

Analogy

A humanitarian crisis is like a house fire, if no one responds quickly, it grows too large to control.

Exam technique

Show cause → inaction → escalation → impact on civilians.

How Does Inaction Worsen Crises?

1. Crises grow when governments ignore early warnings

Most crises show warning signs long before they become catastrophic:
1. rising hate speech
2. food shortages
3. failing health systems
4. conflict between groups
5. breakdown of rule of law
When leaders deny or minimise these early problems, they lose precious time to intervene.

Example

Somalia (1991–present)
- In the late 1980s, the Somali government was collapsing:
  - armed groups were forming,
  - food shortages were spreading,
  - local leaders warned of famine.
- No coordinated international response came, and by 1991 the government fell completely.
- This political vacuum led to civil war, warlord rule, and severe famines, including the devastating famine of 2011, which killed around 260,000 people: half of them children.

2. Inaction allows violence and discrimination to escalate

When those in power do nothing, perpetrators feel confident they can act without consequences.

Example

Rwanda (1994): before genocide began
- Hate radio stations (like RTLM) broadcasted violent propaganda for months, describing Tutsi people as “cockroaches.”
- Militias such as the Interahamwe trained openly and compiled lists of people to kill.
- UN peacekeepers on the ground warned that weapons stockpiles were being distributed.
- Yet the international community did nothing significant.
- When the genocide began, violence escalated with terrifying speed: 800,000 people were murdered in 100 days.

3. Institutions weaken when crises are ignored

If hospitals, schools, courts, or food systems collapse and no help arrives, crises turn into humanitarian catastrophes.

Example

Yemen (2015–present)
- Years of conflict destroyed hospitals, water systems, and food markets.
- The government was too weak to coordinate humanitarian relief.
- When international actors hesitated to deliver aid or pressure warring parties, systems collapsed:
  - Cholera outbreaks spread to over 2 million cases, the largest modern outbreak.
  - 80% of Yemen’s population became dependent on aid.
  - Millions of children suffered acute malnutrition.

Analogy

Think of a city where the water stops running: after a few days, health systems break; after weeks, everything collapses.

4. Delayed response makes solutions much harder

Once a crisis becomes severe:
1. diseases spread
2. famine grows
3. refugee flows increase
4. infrastructure collapses
5. costs skyrocket
6. rebuilding becomes far more difficult

Example

Syria (2011–present)
- What began as peaceful protests was met with violence by the Assad government.
- International inaction during early repression allowed armed conflict to grow into a full-scale civil war.
- By the time global powers intervened:
  - the conflict had splintered into dozens of militias,
  - extremist groups like ISIS had formed,
  - 6.8 million Syrians had fled as refugees,
  - cities like Aleppo were destroyed.