Ethics of Migration and Humanitarian Assistance

To be updatAll human encounters ought to be ethical. But ‘what is to be considered ethical’ is often a subject of much debate. It is therefore very important that we equip ourselves with skills for making sound ethical judgements in our daily decisions. It is important to note that there is much wrong today that goes without criticism perhaps because we lack rational grounds for our ethical opinion. In the area of migration and humanitarian assistance, there are so many issues that happen on daily basis that call for ethical deliberation. Among these are: forced migration/eviction, property rights, asylum, citizenship, defrauding migrants and cheating them by people who appear to be giving them help and so many others.

On the other hand, in humanitarian assistance circles, we need a human resource that will work in refugees and forced migrants crisis that society is facing. The course therefore looks at the needed ethical human resource who is ethically grounded to give a change to the society. The course will search into the foundations of ethics for surrounding migrations and humanitarian assistance. The course answers a number of questions like; Is it our ethical duty as human beings or it is simply a favour that can either be given or not to migrants and refugees? Does treating migrants and works in humanitarian agencies have ethical boundaries? If so, which ones? All the above are questions that this course unit seeks to answer in addition to introducing the student to foundational ethical concepts and theories.
ed by the Lecturer