April 14, 2011

Ross Mountain from Brussels: “The use of military assets for humanitarian assistance should be a last resort”

The April 13th Public Hearing on “The blurring roles between humanitarian and military actors: state of play and perspectives” in which I was invited to participate was a very timely initiative of the European Parliament. Our field analysis in the Humanitarian Response Index (HRI) 2010 pointed to humanitarian assistance becoming increasingly contingent on political, military and security objectives by both donor and host governments in crises like Somalia, occupied Palestinian Territories and Afghanistan. I was very pleased to see that many of our findings and recommendations from the HRI 2010 have found their way into the policy debate in the parliament now. During the hearing, there was a sound commitment to respecting basic humanitarian principles and a reaffirmation that assistance is based on needs, not other objectives, amongst the wide range of speakers present, including Members of the European Parliament, ECHO, NGOs and the new European External Action Service (EEAS).

During the hearing we all underlined the importance of separating humanitarian assistance from its political instrumentalisation and there was agreement that the trend to mix humanitarian objectives with other interests does not work in any sense. It is illusory to think, as some do, that any gains can be achieved from blurring humanitarian and military roles in a crisis. It causes damage and is to the detriment of the people who are trying to deliver aid and of those receiving it.

There is of course a role for the military in some contexts, especially in terms of physical protection. However, any use of military assets for humanitarian assistance should be a last resort- when civilian assets are not available and always under civilian leadership. We need to distinguish between military operations whose objective is the protection of civilians from one of the parties in a conflict, and the delivery of impartial aid by legitimate humanitarian organisations, based on understanding the needs of both sides to the conflict.

How to provide humanitarian assistance in Libya featured prominently in the debate. In this conflict there is a potential for mixing political, military and humanitarian objectives, and it is extremely important to distinguish between the three. At the moment, humanitarian assistance is needed by those under rebel control. Tomorrow it could be needed by those in pro-Gaddafi controlled areas. From the humanitarian perspective, ensuring that aid is provided based on needs, impartially and without discrimination, and independently from other interests and objectives is key if humanitarian actors are to have the respect and trust of all parties, and gain unrestricted access to those in need. There needs to be an understanding of this even now. It is the basis of effective humanitarian assistance.