HUMANITARIAN RESPONSES TO MASS VIOLENCE PERPETRATED AGAINST VULNERABLE POPULATIONS

This multidisciplinary review links three areas of legitimate inquiry for practitioners of medicine and public health. The first is occurren ces of mass violence or genocide perpetrated against vulnerable popula tions, with a focus on the failure of national and international mecha nisms to prevent or predict such violence. The second is evolving conc epts of national sovereignty and an emerging framework in which the im perative to assist vulnerable populations supersedes a state's right t o self determination. The last is how medical, public health, and othe r systems of surveillance and rapid assessment of mass violence can ac celerate public awareness and facilitate structured, consistent politi cal decision making to prevent mass violence and to provide internatio nal humanitarian assistance.