Dangerous Partnership: Humanitarian Aid Groups and the Military

A new plan outlined by the Department of Defense (DoD) and USAID that forces humanitarian groups to collaborate with the military is being called "potentially lethal" by critics of the plan. Representatives from organizations, including InterAction, CARE and International Relief and Development, are outraged at the new policy that they believe will reduce the effectiveness of charitable groups from providing urgently needed aid as they will be too closely connected to the military.

InterAction, which previously supported DoD directing money for "reconstruction, security, or stabilization assistance to a foreign country", now feels the money will be allocated "to fund development projects favored by the military." The military will also have more influence on policy making and funding of humanitarian aid programs.

In response to the new policy, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Elizabeth Ferris, alleges that a close relationship between the military and humanitarian groups will open the door for attacks on charitable groups by insurgents. Ferris says, "Once insurgent groups perceive that a humanitarian organization is acting to pursue military or political objectives, that organization loses the protection it had by virtue of respect for humanitarian principles." Ferris added, "Rather than aid being seen as a response by the U.S. population to suffering people in need, it [will be] increasingly seen as another tool of U.S. foreign policy."

The immediate response to the new policy will be a reduction in charitable groups working with USAID. The long-term impact could be the dearth of critical aid being delivered where it is most needed.

An article explaining the new policy and its response in greater detail is available here.