Do No Harm (DNH)

State actors have the principal responsibility to ensure the human rights of their residents are respected, protected and fulfilled. During times of humanitarian crisis, if states are unable or unwilling to fulfill this role, humanitarian organizations attempt to provide assistance and protection to populations in need.

Do no harm (DNH) helps aid workers to identify conflict-exacerbating impacts of assistance, in particular how decisions and actions can affect inter-group relations. At its core is analysis of dividing and connecting issues and actors, which should be done with local partners and regularly updated during project implementation. It is important to understand how divisions are actually created. For example, ‘religion’ is often called a divider, but religion itself is not necessarily a source of tension. The question is how people use religion to cause divisions.

Although aid can become part of the dynamics of the conflict and may even prolong it, humanitarian organizations must strive to “do no harm” or to minimize the harm they may be inadvertently doing simply by being present and providing assistance. Humanitarian actors need to be aware of this and take steps to minimize the harm when, for example, aid is used as an instrument of war by denying access or attacking convoys; aid is an indirect part of the dynamics of the conflict because it creates jobs, gives incomes in form of taxes, leaves no or little responsibility on the state for social welfare, etc; or aid exacerbates the root causes of the conflict by securing rebel activities. To minimize possible longer term harm, humanitarian organizations should provide assistance in ways that are supportive of recovery and long-term development.

The Do No Harm (DNH) framework is widely used in the humanitarian and development communities and is one of the best known tools for Peace and Conflict Impact Analysis.