Humanitarian diplomacy
What is humanitarian diplomacy?
Humanitarian diplomacy is the use of diplomatic and political instruments to promote respect for international humanitarian law and its progressive development, facilitate humanitarian missions, and raise awareness of the importance of the humanitarian agenda.
Spain and humanitarian diplomacy
Through its humanitarian diplomacy action, Spain contributes to the protection of civilian populations in armed conflicts and other situations involving violence. Spain is working at the diplomatic level to improve the framework conditions for humanitarian efforts.
Spain promotes compliance with international humanitarian law and contributes to the development of instruments to strengthen protection of civilians. To this end, it maintains ongoing dialogues with other States, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations.
Humanitarian Diplomacy Strategy of Spain 2023-2026
In January 2023 Spain adopted its first Humanitarian Diplomacy Strategy, covering the period from 2023 to 2026. This Strategy was conceived as a tool with which to give greater priority to the humanitarian perspective in the State’s foreign action. It seeks to foster the use of all instruments against humanitarian crises, safeguarding humanitarian space and defending neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian action.
Spain’s Humanitarian Diplomacy Strategy is a response to an international context with growing humanitarian needs. It complements other strategies, in particular, Spanish Cooperation’s Humanitarian Action Strategy 2019-2026.
Having been prepared by means of an inclusive process, the Strategy is the product of a collaboration involving multiple public administrations and members of civil society.
The Strategy sets out three major goals, corresponding in turn to 14 lines of action:
- Goal 1: Prevent and resolve conflicts, corresponding to five lines of action encompassing preventive diplomacy, protecting humanitarian space, and counter-terrorism.
- Goal 2: Promote respect for international humanitarian law, corresponding to five lines of action encompassing accountability and combating impunity, protecting medical missions, children in armed conflicts, and hunger and conflict.
- Goal 3: Protect persons in situations of vulnerability, leaving no one behind, corresponding to four lines of action encompassing combating sexual violence, and assisting refugees and internally displaced persons.
Protection of civilians
International law requires all parties to an armed conflict to protect civilians and non-combatants and imposes restrictions and prohibitions on the methods and means of warfare. The protection of civilians in armed conflicts is a principal aim of Spanish foreign policy. Spain is working to guarantee compliance with international humanitarian law and human rights law in armed conflicts. Its priorities are:
- Promote compliance with international humanitarian law by all parties to an armed conflict, including non-State armed groups.
- Specific actions to assist the civilian population, such as protecting children in conflict, combating sexual violence in conflict, and protecting medical missions.
- Promote protection of victims, and accountability for violations of international humanitarian law.
Protecting medical missions
Providing medical care to the wounded and sick in conflict situations is one of the essential principles of international humanitarian law. Within the United Nations, Spain co-led the adoption of Security Council resolution 2286 (2016), which condemns acts of violence, attacks and threats against medical personnel and hospitals in armed conflicts, calls on States to comply with relevant obligations under international humanitarian law, including that of guaranteeing that medical personnel and medical equipment can reach civilian populations in conflict situations unimpeded, and strongly urges States and all parties to armed conflicts to investigate violations of international humanitarian law and take measures against those responsible.
During the 34th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (2024), the Kingdom of Spain and the Spanish Red Cross presented the joint open pledge “Health Care in Danger: Protecting the Medical Mission”. Spain co-chairs the protection of hospitals workstream of the global initiative to reactivate political commitment to International Humanitarian Law (the Global IHL Initiative). Co-launched by the International Committee of the Red Cross, this Initiative seeks to strengthen respect for and application of international humanitarian law in armed conflicts, to address current challenges, to promote universal respect for the provisions of international humanitarian law and develop practical recommendations regarding its effective application.
Voluntary report on domestic implementation of international humanitarian law
As part of its Humanitarian Diplomacy Strategy, Spain has published its first voluntary report on domestic implementation of international humanitarian law. This report offers an overview of the application of international humanitarian law in Spain, through an analysis of the legislative framework, policies and strategies rolled out since the approval of the country’s Humanitarian Diplomacy Strategy.
Read full report
Sixth meeting of the Spanish Committee on International Humanitarian Law, 15 February 2024
Humanitarian action
What is humanitarian action?
The purpose of humanitarian action is to protect and save lives, to prevent and alleviate human suffering, to meet people's most basic and immediate needs, and to promote human rights, applying an approach aimed both at capacity-building and at reducing vulnerabilities.
Spanish Cooperation’s commitment to humanitarian actionn
The Spanish Cooperation Master Plan for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity 2024-2027, which is focused on leaving no one behind, addresses the paradigm shift reflected in the Agenda for Humanity adopted at the World Humanitarian Summit of 2016 and the Grand Bargain launched during that same Summit. Furthermore, the new Spanish Cooperation Humanitarian Action Strategy (2019-2026), which follows a multilateral, pro-European approach, was adopted in March 2019. Lastly, in January 2023, the Council of Ministers approved Spain’s first Humanitarian Diplomacy Strategy, which covers the period from 2023 to 2026.
Humanitarian Action Office of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation: coordination and leadership
The Humanitarian Action Office of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), created in 2007, is responsible for coordinating and leading Spain’s humanitarian action. As a body attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, it oversees the management and provision of assistance in humanitarian crises and represents Spain in international and regional humanitarian forums.
Impact of AECID’s humanitarian action: millions of beneficiaries and resources invested
Since its creation, AECID has managed more than a billion euros and has assisted more than three million people affected by humanitarian crises, including conflicts and natural disasters, in Syria, the Sahel and Lake Chad regions, Sahrawi refugee camps, the Palestinian Territories and Latin America and the Caribbean, among other places.
Spanish Cooperation logistics centres: effective response to humanitarian crises
AECID also has outposts (in Panama, Jerusalem, Amman, Algiers/Tindouf, Addis Ababa, Bamako and Niamey), and three logistics centres to maximize its response capacity:
- Humanitarian Logistics Centre in Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid), with the capacity to respond to multiple crises simultaneously
- United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in Panama, housing prepositioned emergency supplies
- United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) humanitarian logistics base in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
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The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation during his visit to the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot in Panama, in March 2024.
Spanish Technical Aid Response Team (the “red vests”): an immediate response health team
Launched in 2016, the Spanish Technical Aid Response Team (START), known informally as the “red vests” has improved the emergency response of Spanish humanitarian action. Under this initiative, Spain has created a team of first-class public health system professionals who are ready to be deployed to any corner of the world where a humanitarian emergency arises. In April 2019 the red vests were deployed for the first time, to Dondo (Mozambique) in response to the emergency caused by Cyclone Idai
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START members deployed to Hatay Province, Türkiye, to attend to those affected by the earthquake in February 2023.
Spain in International Humanitarian Forums: continued support and engagement
Spain has demonstrated its commitment to humanitarian action and diplomacy in recent years by returning to the Donor Support Group of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which it co-chaired from July 2023 to July 2024, and to the Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP) until 2024. Moreover, Spain chaired the Donor Support Group of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) from July 2019 to June 2020 and the Council Working Party on Humanitarian Action and Food Aid (COHAFA) during the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2023.
Conclusion: the importance of humanitarian action in Spanish diplomacy
Humanitarian action is a crucial aspect of Spanish diplomacy, reflecting a firm commitment to international cooperation, to reducing global vulnerability and to supporting people all over the world affected by crises and conflicts.