When humanitarianism and war mix

Abu Dhabi: A book that studies the difficulties encountered when humanitarian aid overlaps with foreign policy has been translated into Arabic, officials announced on Tuesday.

Translators at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) in Abu Dhabi worked with a translator delegated by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) to translate the organisation's publication, In the Shadow of 'Just' Wars: Violence, Politics and Humanitarian Action.

The MSF in Abu Dhabi has been operational for 15 years, and functions under the patronage of Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

The ECSSR acquired the rights from MSF to translate, publish and distribute the book throughout the Arab world.

Fabrice Weissman, editor of the book and research director for the MSF Foundation, was in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for the launch of the Arabic version, answering questions about the collection of essays which scrutinises the successes and failures of some of the world's greatest humanitarian crises.

"Humanitarian organisations have to remain totally independent from other actors, otherwise they are inefficient in their operations," said Weissman.

Paradigm

"The so-called "just" wars have created a new environment for humanitarian organisations," he added. "There is no such thing as a "just" war, so the title is ironic.

"We wanted the message to be understood in as many places as possible, especially when the paradigm of the war on terror is contaminating everything. Humanitarian action is about helping civilians, not waging a war for civilians."

In the Shadow of 'Just' Wars: Violence, Politics and Humanitarian Action exposes the shortcomings of various humanitarian organisations, and portrays the complex moral and political debate that surrounds the most basic relief operations.

"We have two kinds of humanitarian organisations," explains Weissman. "The red and white organisations, which are independent, and the blue and white organisations which are more keen on working with systems such as the UN. MSF is completely independent, and 95 per cent of our financial resources are from private donors."

"Once we are on the scene in a wartorn country, we need to negotiate our humanitarian space," adds Weissman.

"We negotiate with all kinds of powers in order to get freedom of movement and of dialogue, and to define what are the best actions to be implemented.

"The core of the humanitarian ideal is how to humanise a war, but you can easily switch from that to waging a war for civilisation, which is not the role of a humanitarian organisation. But now, especially with the reforms in the system of the UN which aim to integrate humanitarian work with foreign policy, the line is blurred."