Work in dangerous regions: attacks on development aid workers

Burnt out tank in Kabul, Afghanistan. © UnkelIn recent years there has been an increase in kidnappings and attacks with fatalities or serious injury to employees of non-government organisations in developing countries. This is documented in a study by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). Local development aid workers and members of humanitarian relief organisations are particularly affected. For instance, in 2006 in Sri Lanka 17 Sri Lankan employees of the organisation "Action contre la Faim" were killed. In 2007 Welthungerhilfe itself had two employees killed in Afghanistan. Such violent incidents also repeatedly occurred in Sudan, in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Iraq.

Growing number of victims amongst aid workers

In Afghanistan more employees from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were already killed in the first seven months of 2008 than during the whole of 2007. This development is made even more explosive by a decisive change in the quality of the violence: according to the "Afghanistan NGO Safety Office" (ANSO) the ratio of criminal attacks to political attacks on NGOs in Afghanistan has altered decisively.

Whereas most of the incidents in 2007 were still criminally motivated, now 55 percent of attacks are politically motivated. These figures confirm the assumptions of the ODI from the study that international military interventions frequently encourage the creation of an extremely unpredictable environment for relief organisations. Consequently development aid workers are increasingly becoming the tactical target of political attacks.

Armed militia in Sudan.
© MeissnerWelthungerhilfe's protection strategies

NGOs adopt various tactics so that they are nevertheless able to continue their work. As a matter of principle a differentiation is made between deterrent measures, protective measures and measures aimed at securing the acceptance of the population. As a matter of principle Welthungerhilfe does not implement any deterrent measures. Their employees neither carry weapons nor are they escorted by armed security personnel during their work.

However, in reaction to the increased danger the organisation has systemised and expanded its security management. An experienced security consultant at the headquarters of the organisation in Bonn ensures that the necessary security measures are implemented in conflict regions.

Security through acceptance

However, the most important approach for Welthungerhilfe is the acceptance approach. Based on its principle of closeness to the population, to establish security Welthungerhilfe above all relies on the fact that it is accepted as an organisation. It not only tries to secure this acceptance among the local population but also from all conflicting parties. This acceptance approach is based on building a dense communication network and cooperating with consultants and mediators, who can also establish contact with the conflicting parties.

Danger of mistaken identity: military dressed as civilians

However, in some countries, particularly in Afghanistan, this acceptance approach is reaching its limits. A series of observations indicates that the reason for this is the difficulty in differentiating between military and humanitarian actors. For instance, NGOs in Afghanistan had to abandon project locations because military units visited a project without any warning. Consequently the village elder was no longer able to guarantee the safety of the NGO.

The appearance of military actors in civilian clothing, who carry out undercover military operations, has similar impacts. A particularly controversial situation emerges when soldiers use white vehicles, because these are traditionally recognition symbols for humanitarian organisations' vehicles. Another factor complicating the situation is that humanitarian activities are repeatedly used in the military's external communication to improve the image of the military and to win the hearts and minds of the population.

Consequences taken by NGOs

In recent years some NGOs have responded to these developments and ceased their aid in individual conflict regions. They point out that, amongst other things, this decision is based on the fact that independent aid can no longer be provided if the humanitarian mandate is instrumentalised by the military. The NGOs are resisting the increasing dominance of security policy considerations, which above all regard development cooperation and humanitarian aid as a strategic option "in the slipstream of military intervention".