IMPORTANCE OF AID RECIPIENT PARTICIPATION STRESSED, AS DPI/NGO CONFERENCE CONSIDERS PRIORITIES IN RESTORING SERVICES TO CONFLICT AREAS

DPI/NGO Annual Conference

AM Meeting

IMPORTANCE OF AID RECIPIENT PARTICIPATION STRESSED, AS DPI/NGO CONFERENCE

CONSIDERS PRIORITIES IN RESTORING SERVICES TO CONFLICT AREAS

Entrusting serious tasks only to expatriates and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) “killed” local initiative and impeded self-sustainable development, the President of the Polish Humanitarian Organization, Janina Ochojska, stressed this morning, as the Annual DPI/NGO Conference explored the theme “Restoring Social Services:  Identifying Priorities”.

Joining Ms. Ochojska on a panel convened under the general theme of the three-day Conference “Rebuilding Societies Emerging from Conflict:  A Shared Responsibility” were:  Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); Gerald Martone, Director of Emergency Response, International Rescue Committee; Sima Samar, Chair, Independent Afghan Human Rights Commission; and Leticia Toj Umul, Executive Director, Asociación de Salud y Desarrollo Rxiin Tnamet.  Kul Gautam, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), moderated the discussion.

From the first day of emergency assistance, aid recipients must participate in the entire process, from planning to implementation, Ms. Ochojska said. Assistance meant solidarity with those in need; it must unite people and not divide them.  In Albania in 1999, some 400,000 jobless refugees stood by and watched as expatriates put up tents and carved gravel paths.  Some NGOs saw short-term and often shortsighted “spectacular” actions as more important than the fate of the locals. 

Indeed, in war-torn countries like Afghanistan, the participation of civil society was essential to restoring social services, stressed Ms. Obaid of UNFPA.  In Afghanistan, where UNFPA actively participated in the country’s reconstruction, many local and international NGOs had contributed to the priority areas, such as strengthening maternal health services and girls’ education.  Only such effective partnerships could meet the common goal of full enjoyment of human rights.

The Independent Afghan Human Rights Commission had had to help rebuild the social service sector in Afghanistan from scratch, Ms. Samar explained.  Virtually no development had taken place during 23 years of war, and earlier gains had never reached large parts of the country.  Coordination among all actors would meet the challenge and prove that peace could enhance lives.  Agreeing with other panellists, she stressed the need for international NGOs to listen to local groups rather than impose their own notions of culture and tradition.

Following 36 years of armed conflict in Guatemala, where 60 per cent of the population was indigenous, 75 per cent lived in poverty, and 42 per cent was illiterate, the NGOs there had had to devise strategies tailored specifically to individual community needs, Ms. Umul said.  Her NGO had tackled the problems associated with delivering basic services to the various communities, with an emphasis on the provision of comprehensive services.  In providing health services for example, mental and spiritual health had also been emphasized.

In the question-and-answer exchange that followed, the panellists responded to questions related to the core concerns of the reproductive health services of UNFPA and the harmful effects of illegal abortions; the need for safe sex discussions, tailored to age and culture, in all modern health education programmes; controlling organized crime in post-conflict situations; the involvement of young people in post-conflict situations; and the tremendous impact of NGOs on public opinion.

The DPI/NGO Conference will meet again at 3 p.m. today to convene another panel under the theme “From Less Than Zero:  The Challenge of Rebuilding Economies”. 

Background

The Fifty-fifth Annual DPI/NGO Conference resumed its session this morning with a panel discussion entitled "Restoring Social Services:  Identifying Priorities”.  The overall theme of this year's Conference is "Rebuilding Societies Emerging from Conflict:  A Shared Responsibility”.

Statements

KUL GAUTAM, Moderator of the Panel and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), introduced the Panel.  He said there must be a joint strategy including the international community and the local population towards re-establishing services in post-conflict areas, especially those most affected.  The first priority was health care, as conflict areas were often the worst affected by health problems.  The second was education, to get children engaged in constructive ways with their community and to promote peace-building.  The third was disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, particularly for former child combatants.  Those priorities were the obligation of the international community as set out by Security Council resolutions, and were essential elements to create the conditions for sustainable peace.

GERALD MARTONE, Director of Emergency Response, International Rescue Committee, said the current period was one of the most violent in history, particularly since many soldiers were not professionals, and not trained in the conventions of war.  In addition there has been an increase in horrific warfare tactics, including mass starvation and rape. 

The word post-conflict was often a misnomer, he pointed out, since conflict was defined as incompatible interests or views, not merely fighting as such.  Under that definition, 1.8 billion people lived in conflict zones.  Often more people were dying in post-conflict countries than in countries with active fighting, due to disruptions of vital activities.

He said the manner of restoration of vital services had often been criticized as paternalism and as a "handout" approach.  Because of that, restoring livelihoods, not just saving lives had lately been prioritized.  But it needed to be looked at right away, during the emergency phase.  Mutual dependencies of parties in conflict could be used to both re-establish commerce and services as well as to reduce tension.  It was important to look for such connectors.  It took a tremendous amount of cooperation to start a war, and that kind of cooperative effort could be mined for improvement in post-conflict situations.

Finally, he pointed out that much current warfare was not political but, rather, about the control of wealth by a small group of people.  It was more like organized crime.  It was necessary, in consequence, to see who would be harmed by peace and to involve them in assistance in the post-conflict situation.  Concerning the need to prioritize education in post-conflict situations, he said the monotony and dreary existence of children in those situations should be as much of a concern as mortality figures.  Local solutions to providing education should be sought as frequently as possible; it was important to prevent the "brain drain" from affected areas -- to keep teachers, intellectuals and other educated persons from leaving.

THORAYA OBAID, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said that three weeks ago, a baby boy was born in a 72-bed Danish Emergency Mobile Hospital in Kabul on the day that hospital opened with UNFPA support.  He was the first baby born there.  For Afghan women and children, that hospital was a lifesaver and a life-sustainer.  Afghanistan had the second highest rate of maternal and child mortality in the world.  One in four Afghan children died before reaching the age of 5 and one in 17 Afghan women died from complications of pregnancy and childbirth.

Most medical facilities were run down and in dire need of trained personnel, she continued.  Establishing quality, reproductive health services was an urgent priority to save women’s and babies’ lives.  As part of the United Nations assistance mission in Afghanistan, UNFPA had been an active participant in the country’s reconstruction.  Many local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who contributed to the priority areas, such as strengthening maternal health services and girls’ education, received UNFPA support.  One of those was the Afghanistan Red Crescent, which operated 46 clinics countrywide in training midwives.

In war-torn countries, the participation of civil society was essential to restoring social services, she said.  Education and health care, including reproductive health care, could not be restored in a war-shattered country without a great deal of hard work, investment and partnership.  Nation building was not a quick job but one that started with humanitarian relief when the news cameras were rolling and long after they left.  Overall, there were three challenges to restoring basic social services:  reaching the most vulnerable; ensuring a smooth transition from emergency relief to long-term development; and fostering the active participation of local men and women to build local capacity, so that efforts were long-lasting and self-sustaining.

The UNFPA’s Humanitarian Response Unit coordinated with the United Nations system and other vital partners, including many NGOs that worked at both local and international levels.  Since 1994, the Fund had greatly increased its ability to respond rapidly and address reproductive health needs in crisis situations.  The UNFPA was one of the first United Nations agencies to cooperate widely and on the global level with NGOs.  It remained convinced that it was only through effective partnerships that it could meet the goal of ensuring that people enjoyed the full extent of their human rights:  social, economic, cultural as well as political rights.

JANINA OCHOJSKA, founder and President of the Polish Humanitarian Organization, noted that it started its operations in 1992 with an aid convoy to Sarajevo.  At that time, Poland was going through political and economic changes and had its own problems.  But even back then, she believed that a natural step leading to a fully democratic society was to switch from a foreign aid recipient to an active aid provider.  Now, 10 years later, it was the biggest and most dynamic non-governmental humanitarian organization providing aid abroad.  Often, it learned from the experiences of its western colleagues, but its operations were unique in many respects.

She said the tragedy that had besieged Sarajevo had provoked in Poland a spontaneous willingness to help.  Providing aid for the victims of war in Bosnia was natural and came directly from Polish citizens.  The experience taught several basic principles.  First, assistance meant solidarity with those in need and helped build a civil society in both donor and recipient countries.  Second, assistance should unite people and not divide them.  Third, humanitarian aid must respect human dignity, support it, and not destroy it.  A solid civil society was required for the efficient functioning of any social services in post-conflict areas.  Foreign NGOs must reconstruct such a society by supporting the activities of local NGOs. 

From the first day of emergency assistance, attempts must be made to empower local social structures, she urged.  Aid recipients must be active in the entire assistance process, from planning to implementation.  By entrusting serious tasks only to expatriates, foreign NGOs killed any local initiative and impeded self-sustainable development.  In Albania in 1999, when 400,000 Kosovars had taken refuge, expatriates put up tents in the camps and as foreigners made gravel paths, jobless refugees stood by and watched.  In Ingushetia, 250,000 Chechen refugees were taken care of without the participation of Chechen lawyers, Chechen doctors or Chechen teachers.  Only the active participation of refugees increased their independence.

Recalling the presence of some 400 organizations in the Kosovo area in 1999, she said that some NGOs seemed to view short-term and often short-sighted “spectacular” actions as more important than the fate of the locals.  As a result, well-educated local people became drivers or interpreters with international organizations rather than returning to their prior jobs as dentists, civil servants or lawyers.  Moreover, wealth, high salaries and other perks of the international humanitarian organizations contrasted sharply with conditions in post-conflict zones and created distance between the assisting organization and its local beneficiaries.  Some distance was understandable, but too big a distance led to the perception that foreign NGOs were “some kind of good uncle” and not a true partner.

SIMA SAMAR, Chair, Independent Afghan Human Rights Commission, spoke about rebuilding the social service sector in Afghanistan from almost nothing.  Virtually no development had taken place during 23 years of war, and earlier development had never reached large parts of the country.  The coordinated efforts of all actors was needed to meet the challenge and show that peace could improve people's lives.

Money, she said, was sorely needed; very little rebuilding had taken place.  Donors had been unwilling to fund the Afghan Government in those efforts and, in consequence, the Government was starting to resent NGOs.  The NGOs had an important role, but local government also needed to have responsibilities and resources in order to grow into its future role. 

It was also important to fund NGOs led by Afghan women, she said, and, in general, for international NGOs to begin to listen to local NGOs rather than imposing their own notions of Afghan culture and traditions.  For instance, that culture had not been the main factor in blocking girls' education, rather it had been the lack of schools.

He said that income generation projects were another priority for families, particularly those led by widows, to survive and achieve self-sufficiency.  Assistance for housing was needed.  Other kinds of social services that needed special attention were reproductive health centres, severely restricted by the Taliban, and other health facilities which were in horrible shape.

Any rebuilding of social services in Afghanistan required, he said, security, which meant the expansion of peacekeeping troops beyond Kabul.  He hoped that some day the country would not have to depend on assistance from other countries and could actually help others.  However, to reach that goal, assistance must strengthen Afghanistan's social service sector for the long-term.

LETICIA TOJ UMUL, Executive Director, Asociacion de Salud y Desarrollo Rxiin Tnamet, a 27-year old NGO based in Guatemala, noted that in her country

16 per cent of the population was rural, and 60 per cent was indigenous. 

Seventy-five per cent of the population lived in poverty, and 42 per cent was illiterate.  For those reasons, her organization had had to develop appropriate strategies.  Moreover, the armed struggle had persisted for 36 years, and its causes were still alive today.  Her NGO had tackled the problems associated with delivering basic services to the various communities. 

She said that the provision of social and health services had required the Government’s participation.  Indeed, the Government must recognize that education, health and other basic services, as well as social participation were fundamental rights.  Also important was empowering the local people as actors and managers in the various programmes, in order to maintain a democratic and stable environment and promote the sustainability of projects.  Critical to success at the community level was identifying its main needs through targeted research and interviews and then designing schemes to meet them. 

Community organizations in countries like Guatemala, which had emerged from protracted armed conflict and where the rates of poverty and illiteracy were so high, needed the support of international institutions, she said.  Experience had also shown that the provision of services, such as those her NGO had sought to provide, must be comprehensive in nature.  Health services, for example, must be concerned, not only with physical health but also with mental and spiritual health.  Access to education was also key to the development of Guatemalan society.

Responses to Questions

Ms. OBAID, in response to questions about reproductive service and HIV/AIDs, said that abortion, by consensus, was not a form of family planning, and UNFPA did not promote abortion activities.  The agency did help entities in dealing with health planning that could result from illegal abortions, however.  All reproductive services, in addition, had to be free of coercion.

Safe sex, she said, had to be part of any modern health education and should be taught in appropriate ways for various age groups and cultures.  It included teaching how to say no to sex.  Abstinence, monogamy and condoms were centrepieces of such teaching.  She said that it was not possible to work on those subjects with individuals who had absolute opinions and could not accept other viewpoints.

Ms. SAMAR, responding to questions about NGOs in Afghanistan, said that most local NGOs there were not connected to warlords.  If local government was supported to provide social services, the support for warlords would lessen.

Regarding the manner in which the culture of Afghanistan had been misinterpreted, she said that political parties had misused Islam to control people, and the international community had gone along with that misuse by supporting the religious schools as a weapon against the Soviet Union.  Pre-war Islam, in Afghanistan, had respect for women and their education and, currently, 100,000 girls wanted to be educated but simply had no schools to attend.

Mr. MARTONE, in response to questions about avoiding the monopoly of mega-corporations in post-conflict economies, said that public opinion could be an effective check on even the largest corporations.  He pointed to examples concerning conflict diamonds and genetically altered baby foods.  He also spoke, in general, about the effectiveness of coordinated lobbying by NGOs.

Ms. OCHOJSKA, responding to questions about organized crime in post-conflict situations, said it was important to teach people how to control the results of their work and to understand the mentality of such criminals.

Ms. UMUL answered questions about her organization's work to counter domestic violence in post-conflict situations, saying that policy development and work with the male population and children were important elements in changing the cycle of family violence.  Concerning traditional medicine, she said it existed in many localities alongside modern medicine.  The Government had not had programmes to encourage natural medicine, but her group felt it was important, as was improved nutrition, especially for pregnant women and young children.

Mr. GAUTAM ended the session by speaking about the importance of children's involvement in international assistance in post-conflict situations.

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