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The UN and rights watchdogs have repeatedly accused the
insurgents of deliberate, systematic and widespread attacks
on noncombatants and civilian locations.
Much of the international aid to
Afghanistan over the past seven years has been spent to
achieve military and political objectives, and the current
approach to aid lacks “clarity, coherence and resolve”, a
group of international NGOs has said.
In a report to the heads of NATO-member states, 11
international NGOs operating in Afghanistan have warned
about over-reliance on short-term military gains at the
expense of longer-term peace and development.
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“There is a
need for a truly comprehensive strategy for the long-term
reconstruction and stabilisation of Afghanistan,” said the
report entitled Caught in the Conflict (subtitled Civilians
and the International Security Strategy in Afghanistan),
released on 3 April.
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To
prevent a blurring of the lines between military and
humanitarian actors, aid agencies and NATO-led
forces agreed on a modus operandi in 2008 [NATO-led
forces, aid agencies agree new modus operandi] but
this is being largely ignored less than a year after
it was signed, the report said.
“We have seen no difference on the ground,” said
Matt Waldman, Oxfam’s policy and advocacy manager in
Kabul.
The NGOs - including Oxfam, CARE Afghanistan,
ActionAid and Save the Children (UK) - are concerned
about the growing impact of armed conflict on
civilians and the increasing use of aid for military
and political gain.
“We feel a pull on our sleeves pulling us to the
military tent,” said Dave Hampson, a representative
of Save the Children UK, adding that funds for aid
agencies were being tied to military and political
conditionality more than ever before. |
“The situation
has changed a lot since I started work as a relief
worker in the 1990s. In the past we were somehow
immune from attacks and could safely access
communities controlled by different warring parties.
People respected us and supported our work. “But now
I constantly fear being killed or kidnapped. I keep
my work top secret and try my best not to show any
affiliation with NGOs because this would jeopardise
my life. I don’t carry my employment identity card,
never use an official vehicle and try to act as an
ordinary local.
IRIN, Feb. 22, 2009 |
Oxfam commentary
In a commentary on the report Oxfam said:
“The report warns the military are blurring the distinction
between aid workers and soldiers by doing extensive
humanitarian and assistance work for counter-insurgency
purposes, and by using unmarked white vehicles, which are
conventionally only used by the UN and aid agencies. This
undermines local perceptions of the independence and
impartiality of aid agencies and therefore increases the
risk to aid workers, and threatens to reduce the areas in
which they can safely work.
“The agencies recommend a phase-out of militarised aid and a
substantial increase in development and humanitarian funding
for civilian institutions and organisations,” it said.
IRIN was unable to get a comment from NATO.
UNAMA report
Over 2,100 civilian Afghans were killed in the conflict in
2008; about 55 percent by various insurgent groups and the
rest by pro-government forces, the UN Assistance Mission in
Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a report entitled Protection of
Civilians in Armed Conflict in 2008.
The UN and rights watchdogs have repeatedly accused the
insurgents of deliberate, systematic and widespread attacks
on noncombatants and civilian locations.
The NGOs also voiced concern about a significant increase in
civilian deaths resulting from aerial strikes by
international military forces which were reported to be 552
in 2008; 72 percent higher than 2007, according to the UNAMA
report.
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Web localization:
Estrella Escudero (Universidad de Salamanca)
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