Stoic News

By Dave Kelly

Sunday, April 13, 2003

Wrong people for the job - The Guardian.

"The task of delivering aid to the population of Iraq must be taken away from the military and handed to the UN, says Dominic Nutt"

"No one is questioning the sincerity of the troops who are trying to fulfil this role. But it is not their job and, demonstrably, they don't know how to do it. Furthermore, it is impossible for a force fighting on one side of a war either to be impartial over who gets the aid, or to be seen to be impartial.

"Yet impartiality lies at the heart of the "humanitarian imperative" governing the actions of all humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organisations. It is enshrined in the Red Cross/Red Crescent code of conduct, to which Christian Aid is a signatory.

"Quite simply, the code states that aid must be delivered at the point of greatest need, without fear or favour or any political purpose. To do this requires a lot of planning and organisation."



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