Brussels, 14/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - At a time when adoption of the concept of operations (CONOPS) for EUFOR Libya is dependent on a request being made by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the need for the major principles governing humanitarian aid and the need to avoid confusion between the roles of military personnel and humanitarian workers was made clear at the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels on Wednesday. The public hearing organised by MEP Michèle Striffler (EPP, France), EP permanent rapporteur on humanitarian aid, gave representatives of humanitarian and military organisations, and of the European External Acton Service (EEAS), the opportunity to discuss the risks of politicisation/militarisation of humanitarian aid.
Use of military means to support humanitarian organisations in Libya must be as a last resort, if there is no comparable civilian option, said Striffler, closing the debate.
“Humanitarian aid must be neutral, impartial and free from any political consideration. These humanitarian principles are not dogmatic in character but derive from operational and effectiveness considerations”, she said. If the distinction between the remits of military and humanitarian players is to remain clear - in line with the 1994 Oslo Directive - it is to ensure access to the people affected and to make sure that the lives of humanitarian workers are not put in danger. Everyone is aware of this.
“Making humanitarian aid subject to a political-military objective is a recipe for failure. Afghanistan is an obvious example, where humanitarian workers are perceived as political representatives, not as neutral operators. However, there are clearly situations where military deployment to support humanitarian operations is necessary, as was the case after the earthquake which laid waste to Haiti”, she acknowledged. (A.N./transl.rt)