Campaign For Innocent Civilians In Conflict: NATO Chief de Hoop Scheffer Pledges Aid to Afghan War Victims
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 22, 2007
12:08 PM
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CONTACT: Campaign For Innocent Civilians In Conflict
Marla Bertagnolli
917.353.7076
marlab@civicworldwide.org
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NATO Chief de Hoop Scheffer Pledges Aid to Afghan War Victims
Advocates Applaud Pledge, But Urge Follow-Through and Responsibility For Civilian Harm Despite Deplorable Taliban Tactics
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WASHINGTON - MAY 22 - Following comments made yesterday by NATO Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer, CIVIC today applauded the NATO chief’s pledge to help Afghan civilians harmed by combat operations and called on all NATO nations to now follow through with real funding.
While visiting President Bush in Crawford, Texas, de Hoop Scheffer lamented the loss of civilian life in Afghanistan and reiterated NATO’s efforts to avoid those deaths. De Hoop Scheffer also said NATO forces are in a “different moral category” from the Taliban, which uses civilians as shields and targets, and pledged to “bring in… finance to see that these people can build up their lives again.” CIVIC urged NATO countries to immediately fulfill that pledge with money for programs that compensate and aid victims of NATO operations.
“Afghans should be angry with the Taliban for using deplorable tactics that put civilians in harms’ way,” said Sarah Holewinski, CIVIC’s Executive Director. “But if NATO wants to back up the claim that it is morally superior, it’s got to take real responsibility for the civilian losses it causes and provide aid for victims.”
The US has been helping civilians harmed by its forces since 2003 with both direct compensation (immediate cash payouts) and $10 million this year in humanitarian aid. CIVIC noted that NATO has not followed suit. Several NATO countries created a common pot of money – the Post-Operations Humanitarian Relief Fund – in late 2006. However, only a handful of countries have donated – not enough to make amends to civilian victims.
“Winning the war in Afghanistan means doing more than combating a foe on the battlefield,” said Holewinski. “Avoiding civilians and then compensating for unintended injuries and deaths is a big way of showing Afghans and the world that NATO cares about the Afghan people.”
CIVIC is a Washington-based organization that believes civilians harmed in conflict should be recognized and aided by the warring parties involved. Founded by the late Marla Ruzicka, a passionate humanitarian killed by a suicide bomb in Baghdad while advocating for war victims, CIVIC works toward smart, compassionate policies for civilians caught in the crossfire of conflict.
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