Aid Worker Security: Slouching Towards Bethlehem

Published June 22, 2009 @ 08:24AM PT

I know, I know, it's a pretentious title, but I love the Second Coming (the poem, not so much the millenarian religious fervor). Also seemed appropriate for today's look at - drumroll, please - attacks against aid workers. Fun, I know.

Recently came across a fascinating report by the Centre for Development Policy and Research at the School of Oriental and African Studies, entitled Why Upholding Humanitarian Principles Does Not Protect Aid Workers.

According to the report:

"The attackers are not confused. They are trying to demonstrate their own prowess, the weakness of their victims and the inability of the opposing military force to protect them. They also reject the notion that the aid workers are independent.

Aid workers have to also recognize that when they engage in relief and reconstruction, the nature of their work is inherently political. Helping rebuild a state is a highly political act. Hence, stressing their neutrality is not likely to reduce the grave risks that they face."

Which is as good an explanation as any for recent attacks against aid workers in places like Pakistan and Somalia. For instance:

- The World Food Program recently warned that the Taliban are targeting aid agencies in Pakistan, comparing the situation to Iraq in 2003. (Which seems a bit of an overstatement, but so it goes.)

- Increasing insecurity has forced MSF to close its largest health center in Somalia. UNICEF has also warned about a "unprecedented level of aggression against humanitarian work" in parts of Somalia

The report goes on to critique the idea that acceptance by local communities provides a security guarantee, noting that:

"Often the local population is in no position to provide protection. Hence, there is no straightforward relationship between being accountable to the local population and reducing the risk of attack."

Of course, it's much easier pointing out problems than offering concrete solutions. That said, Patronus Analytical has an excellent series on active acceptance that's well worth reading.

[Attack against the Pearl Continental Hotel in Pakistan - Photo from www.islandcrisis.net]

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Author

Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.