wfn.org | Faith groups affirm "guiding principles" on humanitarian aid to

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #6931 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Afghanistan
01-November-2001
01412

Faith groups affirm "guiding principles" on humanitarian aid to Afghanistan

PDA, 4 others say adherence would save lives, relieve suffering

by Evan Silverstein

NEW YORK CITY - Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) and four other
humanitarian agencies, including Church World Service, have released a
statement of principles they believe "must guide humanitarian assistance to
the people of Afghanistan."

In their statement, Three Guiding Principles for Humanitarian Aid in the
Afghanistan Crisis, the agencies said:

* Aid "must be provided on the basis of need, not as an instrument of
political or military strategy"

* "Multilateral cooperation is critical for effective aid"; and, 

* "Military intervention must not exacerbate humanitarian crises."

"Adherence to these principles will save lives and relieve suffering among a
people at risk from drought, chaos, wars and the approaching winter," said
the signatories - PDA, American Friends Service Committee, Lutheran World
Relief, Mennonite Central Committee, and Church World Service (the National
Council of Churches' global witness and service ministry).

The agencies are using their advocacy groups in Washington to circulate the
principles to members of Congress, according to Janis D. Shields, director
of media and public relations for American Friends Service Committee.

The full text of the Nov. 1 statement:

THREE GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR HUMANITARIAN AID IN THE AFGHANISTAN CRISIS

The principles that follow must guide humanitarian assistance to the people
of Afghanistan. Adherence to these principles will save lives and relieve
suffering among a people at risk from drought, chaos, wars and the
approaching winter.
 
As faith-based humanitarian organizations in the U.S. responding to the
crisis in Afghanistan, we urgently call upon non-governmental and
governmental agencies to uphold the three principles below in all
humanitarian actions. We also affirm the "Code of Conduct for The
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster
Response Programmes" (www.sphereproject.org/handbook/annexes.htm#5), and
strongly recommend compliance in this extraordinary crisis. In addition to
the Code, the principles draw on lengthy experience in humanitarian service,
reflect precepts of U.S. and international law, and address the special
challenge that this crisis poses to Christians, Muslims and other people of
faith.

All faith-based organizations have a special calling in this crisis.
Extremist religion has fanned the flames of conflict. Now faith-based
cooperation is necessary to help repair the damage done and inspire remedies
still to come.

1.   HUMANITARIAN AID MUST BE PROVIDED ON THE BASIS OF NEED, NOT AS AN
INSTRUMENT OF POLITICAL OR MILITARY STRATEGY

We reaffirm the "Code of Conduct" requirement that aid is to be provided
wherever it is needed, not as a partisan or political act and not as an
instrument of military strategy. In accordance with this principle and the
moral teachings of our faith, we commit ourselves and call others to ensure
the separation of humanitarian assistance from military action during
conflicts, now as in the past. The purpose of aid is to assist people in
need, in this case, the vulnerable sectors of the Afghan population.

 2.  MULTILATERAL COOPERATION IS CRITICAL FOR EFFECTIVE AID IN AFGHANISTAN
 
We affirm the principle of multilateral cooperation in this crisis,
particularly through the United Nations and its humanitarian agencies. For
the U.S. and Europe to provide assistance to populations within the Muslim
world, multilateral action is as critical in the humanitarian field as it is
in the political arena.  The U.S. must be careful not to act alone in ways
that sharpen the geopolitical, cultural and religious polarizations
complicating this crisis.  Cooperation between governments and other
international agencies rebuilds the unity essential for the well-being of
all peoples now threatened.
 
In this context we also endorse the U.S. Government's increased commitment
to providing humanitarian assistance to the citizens displaced within
Afghanistan and in refugee camps across its borders.  Multilateral
assistance is essential to the success of that U.S. aid.
 
3.  MILITARY INTERVENTION MUST NOT EXACERBATE HUMANITARIAN CRISES
 
Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis will not wait for other goals to be met.
On September 11, up to five million people, one fifth of the Afghan
population, were suffering through a major food crisis. Their numbers have
only grown since that date, yet the pursuit of suspected terrorists has
taken precedence over their fate. Military responses that undermine
effective humanitarian aid endanger innocent people and deepen this
humanitarian crisis, and by so doing, also undermine the prospects for
future cooperation against terrorist acts.
 
Given the urgent needs and approach of winter, we call for all parties to
this conflict to establish conditions that permit the immediate, safe
delivery of humanitarian aid in the quantities needed. Such conditions may
include ceasefires, safe zones for relief work, humanitarian aid corridors
and similar measures, to be accompanied by multinational monitoring of
compliance.
------------------------------------------
Send your response to this article to pcusa.news@pcusa.org

------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send an 'unsubscribe' request to

pcusanews-request@halak.pcusa.org