In March 2005, the heads of major U.S. humanitarian organizations and U.S. civilian and military leaders met at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) to launch a discussion on the challenges posed by operations in combat and other nonpermissive environments. Collaboration between humanitarian groups (represented by InterAction) and several U.S. government agencies resulted in a set of guidelines for cooperation between U.S. armed forces and nongovernmental humanitarian organizations working closely together in conflict areas.
