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NGOs -- Propaganda vs. humanitarianism
- Subject: NGOs -- Propaganda vs. humanitarianism
- From: "Gerald M. Steinberg" <gerald at vms.huji.ac.il>
- Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 12:11:14 +0200
JUNE 7 2002 -- AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW Propaganda has taken over from humanitarianism GERALD M. STEINBERG The term "non-governmental organization" (NGO) usually evokes images of altruism and compassion, particularly among anti-globalization crowd that believes that states, and the politicians who run them, are flawed and their actions need to be tempered. NGOs are supposed to speak up for the weak and drowntrodden, and to promote the rights of individual and minorities. In this spirit, tens of thousands of NGOs have sprung up, concentrating on environmental issues, human rights, humanitarian relief, and campaigns against dangerous weapons such as landmines and small arms. These groups are well funded, and use their generous budgets to promote themselves and their causes. The largest and richest NGOs, such as Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam have become well-known brand names, and the major figures in these groups are more powerful than many government officials. At the same time, in many cases, these organizations have themselves added to injustice and duplicity, particularly in the Middle East. Like the United Nations and its affiliate, UNRWA, prominent NGOs have become captured by the pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel lobby. These organizations played a major role in last year's infamous Durban conference last year that was supposed to fight racism but ended up contributing to hatred of Israel and anti-Semitism. Similarly, the myths of the "Jenin massacre" were propelled by NGOs such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Oxfam, Physicians for Human Rights (the list is much longer) and their biased and unverified reports were picked up and repeated by the media. To make matters worse, much of the funding for these "non-governmental" organizations actually comes from governments. Large allocations from income generated by government taxes is provided to NGOs, supposedly for "humanitarian" projects, allowing politicians and officials to promote their private agendas through the back door. The practice is widespread in Europe, Australia and Canada as a means of increasing visibility and impact in the UN and international organizations, while also advancing the careers of the politicians involved. The European Union spends as much as fifteen percent of its total budget in support for NGOs, and prominent organizations have budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars. Most of these groups operate with an even more appalling lack of transparency and accountability than the governments that they criticize for precisely these failings. The tens of millions of dollars spent on projects funneled through NGOs and labeled simply and ambiguously as "humanitarian aid projects" or "peace support" do not receive the scrutiny of direct spending by government ministries. The results are rarely subject to external evaluation, and the annual allocations keep flowing, regardless of whether there is any impact. In the Middle East, huge amounts of international humanitarian aid to the Palestinian refugees has failed to provide any change in the situation, and most of the money has disappeared. In addition, this generous government funding supports numerous anti-Israel propaganda groups that masquerade as NGOs, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Oxfam International, with an annual budget of $AU720 million, has launched a massive campaign urging condemnation of Israel for "gross violations of international humanitarian law". The Australian affiliate, known as Community Aid Abroad, receives 21 percent of its funding from the Australian government for projects in the Palestinian refugee camps. While claiming to be a "humanitarian organization", CAA, like other groups working under Arafat's jurisdiction, turned a blind eye to the recruitment, training, and dispatch of suicide bombers. In their emotional appeal, Oxfam's leaders note that "Our partners …in Ramallah and other towns have confirmed the horrific situation we are all witnessing on our televisions: grave breaches of humanitarian law, including: the targeting of medical personnel, denial of medical care to the injured and chronically ill; actual and threatened violence against clearly-identified staff of the Red Cross, Palestinian Red Crescent Society and the UN.." etc. The list is quite long, and filled with many eyewitness reports. A cursory examination reveals that CAA's eager propagandists have chosen to ignore the long history of entirely unreliable (i.e., false) reports designed to delegitimate Israel, as well as the background of the brutal Palestinian terrorist campaign that led to the Israeli response. To refer to Oxfam and its partners in trendy Israel-bashing as "humanitarian" organizations makes a mockery of the term. These false claims also undermine those apolitical and less publicized groups that actually provide humanitarian services instead of politics and ideology. These examples serve to illustrate the hidden political and ideological agendas of the NGOs. Their halos are growing very thin, and their activities around the world are coming under greater scrutiny, particularly in the highly propagandized realm of Middle East politics. Like the entire United Nations system, with which these organizations work very closely to promote and protect each other, the role of NGOs needs urgent and total reform. <><><><><><><><<><><><><<><>< Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg Director, Program on Conflict Management and Negotiation Political Studies, Bar Ilan University Ramat Gan, Israel Tel: 972-54890445, Fax: 972-3-5357931, http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~steing/conflict/conflict.html
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