Læger uden Grænser (MSF) gør gældende, at det f.eks. i praksis næppe er muligt at undgå at bistå Taliban, når man vil hjælpe udsatte og nødlidende i Afghanistan
BERLIN, 28 October 2011 (IRIN): For decades aid agencies have been tackling troubling ethical dilemmas about where to draw the line when negotiating with armed forces when trying to deliver aid to vulnerable communities.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) discusses some of the ethical dilemmas it has faced over the past 40 years in “Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed: The MSF Experience”, promoted at its annual Berlin Humanitarian Congress.
– Humanitarian actors often claim they are above politics but it is simply not true, said Fabrice Weissman, one of the co-authors of the book, which will be officially launched at the end of November.
– We do still retain our central tenet (grundregel), which is saving lives, Weissman added, but we also “seek to puncture a number of myths. We address the big question of when MSF should and should not be willing to compromise?”
Contributors lay out a wide range of dilemmas, “seeking to analyze the political transactions and balances of power and interests that allow aid activities to move forward, but that are usually masked by the lofty rhetoric of ‘humanitarian principles’”.
Financing fighters
The conclusions are often disturbing.
– That fighting forces seek to take advantage of aid groups is unavoidable. The fact is that unless we provide them with benefits they have no reason to allow us to operate in the areas they seek to control, Weissman said.
As an example, he mentioned Taliban-held areas of Afghanistan.
– The reality there is that the Taliban are claiming responsibility for the goods and services that humanitarian groups are providing, which allows the Taliban to appear to the local populations as being effective governors, noted he.
Another benefit fighting forces get from aid groups is money, exchanged for services such as security. – On many occasions, MSF, like other organizations, uses combatants to ensure the safety of its teams and convoys, said the author.
Bribes are also part of negotiations, says Rony Brauman, who heads the MSF think-tank Centre de Réflexion Sur l’Action et Les Savoirs Humanitaires, which encourages debate and critical reflection on humanitarian practices.
– The question is often not whether to pay them but how much to pay. It must be thought of as an informal tax, states he.
Also, much of the salary paid to local staff can end up in the coffers of fighting forces. Weismann cited Eritrea, which, during the conflict with Ethiopia in 1998, demanded a 50 percent tax on wages paid by NGOs.
Corruption “integral”
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