Humanitarian Relief NGOs

General Introduction

Like the military, the NGO community is, in many ways, a direct reflection of the societies from which it comes. NGOs are frequently seen as vehicles for expression of the concerns and aspirations of their society. NGO respective members reflect the values expressed through the group norms. The roles and objectives of the NGO community, writ large, can diverge, but recognizing this aspect of their origins may be the basis for achieving significant levels of understanding and communication. In short, one cannot expect a U.S. NGO to behave like a European or Islamic NGO.

It is important to remember that the NGO community is as diverse as its parent societies, whether Western or non-Western. This diversity is simultaneously a strength and a complicating factor in its effectiveness and its relation to other communities, such as the military. There is no one attitude among NGOs toward working with the military or, indeed, even with each other. Frequently, NGOs are put into seemingly open competition because of their reliance on donor support. When engaged in fund-raising, NGOs may even highlight their differences in order to attract donor support.

Next, we will look at what makes an NGO in the minds of its staff and supporters. It is useful to understand this in order to relate to this family of organizations.

WHAT GUIDES NGOS

A Code of Conduct for disaster relief guides many NGOs and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (www.ifrc.org/publicat/conduct/). This code commits NGOs to assist victims wherever possible and to operate under guidelines requiring impartiality, independence, and the humanitarian imperative. The code provides ten principles to which all NGOs should adhere in their disaster response work and describes the relationships agencies working in disasters should seek with donor governments, host governments, and the United Nations. The code calls on NGOs to provide assistance on the basis of need, without adverse distinctions or effort to further any political or religious view. NGOs should not act as instruments of governments and should treat victims with dignity and respect.

HUMANITARIAN SPACE AND SECURITY

For NGO workers, humanitarian space, put simply, is that area where they can perform their work without concern over interference from outside political or military influences. It is a physical area where the personal security of NGO workers and the beneficiaries of their aid is maintained. Creating this space is not a matter of setting up a cordon of barbed wire and inviting those who wish to benefit to enter. It is more a matter of recognizing that such space is a prerequisite for humanitarian work and facilitating its existence through avoidance of military presence and overt involvement where possible. The term is not an abstract or idealized concept. For NGOs, it means what it says: We need to be free and secure to help others.

HUMANITARIAN/RELIEF NGOS

These NGOs provide direct assistance in the manner of emergency response teams. They typically wear T-shirts emblazoned with their organizations' names, which serve as uniforms.

These organizations are usually organized to be at the scene of a disaster or a conflict-related situation as quickly as possible. Frequently, they can have an emergency response team on the ground within as little as twenty hours. This initial presence is in the form of an assessment team whose objective is to determine where the organization's particular area of competence and available resources can have the most impact. In many cases, they will already be present maintaining long-term programs that predate the disaster. There are a great many of these agencies of varying size and background. Organizations such as CARE, the International Medical Corps, the International Rescue Committee, and World Vision fall into this category. They are the organizations with which most people are familiar, as they operate during well-reported disasters or conflicts. They also operate in far less well-known situations, as their mission statements require that they attempt to respond to needs wherever they exist to the extent of their resources and abilities.

Among NGOs, there are varying degrees of willingness to work with the military. Many NGOs will tailor their relations to military forces based on the specific mission of those forces (warfighting, peacekeeping, or support to humanitarian operations). In Afghanistan, NGOs have differing policies with regard to their interactions with the International Security Assistance Force, which is engaged in peacekeeping, and the U.S.-led coalition, which is engaged in combat operations. Their unwritten terms of reference frequently include "we don't coordinate directly with the military but, just maybe, we can work together cooperatively." Working together cooperatively assumes recognizing each other's areas of competence and capacity. For example, military logistical capabilities far exceed those of any NGO, and there are times when military assistance makes the difference in meeting the needs of a population. Some NGOs will exchange information on the health status of populations or other concerns within their competence. NGOs will look to the military to share information on security, such as the location of minefields or other dangers.

NGOs will not share "intelligence." It is important to accept the distinction NGOs make here. It is important to their physical security that they not be suspected of spying, which would compromise their relationship with the local population, and hence their security.

Continue to Humanitarian Relief NGOs, cont'd.