Civil – Military Cooperation (CIMIC) Challenges & Opportunities: Some pointers for reflection August 2005

Why Civil-Military Cooperation? Initiative coming from Defence forces: Changing concepts: “peace keeping”? Increased demand: new type of conflict Institutional: new self-justification of army? NGOs sceptical: More at ease with “pacifist” approach Worried about blurring of roles Worried about militarisation of humanitarian aid

CIMIC? NGOsDept. of Defence AIMS Saving lives & livelihoods“peace” = security = absence of uncontrollable threats ACCOUNTABLE TO Supporters Beneficiary populations(?) Government CULTURE Bottom-up, participationTop-down command structure COSTS Relatively lowopen-ended budget MATERIALS Dependent on local marketOwn gear, expat based MOTIVATION Impact being questionedNew opportunity NGOs and Defence Forces: No natural bed fellows

CIMIC? Issues: NGOsDefence forces “CIMIC = ensuring military forces assist the humanitarian effort” “CIMIC = liaising with civilian structures, within a military operation” “Army naïve”: Not all humanitarian action is helpful Aid is not just logistics “NGOs naïve”: Security is a human right, and security requires use of force. “Militarisation of aid complicates matters, and infringes on humanitarian principles” “Humanitarian NGOs cannot cope alone” “Military involvement blurs the lines, and puts all aid workers in danger” “Why should we not get involved?” Have the will Have the manpower Are willing to learn Is part of what we do “Army should facilitate our work”“NGO work requires security”

Ways Forward Needed: dialogue –Formulate principles Why humanitarian assistance? What common responsibilities? What definition of security? –Determine NGO ‘doctrine’ on military intervention When to call for military intervention? What is needed in the military’s political mandate? Formulate rules of engagement: When to cooperate with military When to accept assistance from military –“Dilemma Sharing”: NGO-Military process to: Identify ethical dilemmas Identify learning needs Identify lessons learned Formulate codes of conduct