Humanitarian Relief and the Politics of NGO's
Non-governmental organizations have been struggling with the idea of accepting money for relief assistance in Iraq from the US government with the Pentagon at the helm. In the past week, several major NGO's have agreed to accept US funding, with the proviso that their work is overseen by the State Department. Ruth Seymour examines the issues on the ground and the politics at home with representatives of Doctors without Borders, the International Rescue Committee and Refugees International, and a national security expert from the American Enterprise Institute.
By Sarah Spitz • • 1 min readNicolas de Torrente is executive director of Doctors without Borders in the US. Most recently, he coordinated their relief programs in Afghanistan. DWB accepts no government funding.
Sandra Mitchell is vice president for government relations for the International Rescue Committee, a non-profit, non-sectarian, voluntary agency providing assistance to refugees around the world. The IRC has agreed to accept government funding.
Kenneth Bacon is executive director and president of Refugees International, an advocate for humanitarian action, monitoring conditions of refugees and displaced peoples around the world and works. Because Mr. Bacon was the Pentagon spokesman from 1994 to 2001, he knows about both sides of the NGO equation. Refugees International does not accept government funding.
Thomas Donnelly is a resident fellow in national security and defense at the American Enterprise Institute and author of its monthly National Security Outlook.
Today-s program was prompted by -Relief Groups Seek to Keep Pentagon at Arm-s Length,- an article written by Jane Perlez for the New York Times on Thursday, April 24.