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ARAB COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Paris conference
for Humanitarian NGOs
9-10/01/2003
Regional, national and international humanitarian
and charitable non-governmental organizations face many problems related
to the great changes in the world in the last two decades. Humanitarian
organizations have lately expanded worldwide and further developed the concept
of their role, internal structure and their relationship to political and civil
societies on the local and international level.
The world has witnessed a great change to the concept of sovereignty and
the right of intervention. Also, humanitarian organizations, based on
voluntarism, have turned towards more professionalism, both in the North and
the South. Unipolar globalization has re-established relations of domination
and influence on the international level. Governments and various political
groups have realized the importance of this phenomenon; and thus have attempted
to influence, contain and employ it for their political and cultural
purposes. Today this phenomenon represents one of the most difficult legal and
civil formulas among the social, regional and international structures.
However, despotic regimes view these organizations’ independent efforts
in providing relief to the disadvantaged and the vulnerable as exposing,
directly and indirectly, their own faults. In western countries, in general, it
is believed that the NGOs of the South build protective structures, which
prevent the reproduction of western models. The big rise of Islamic
humanitarian organizations has underscored a new dimension to these problems.
In fact, most of these organizations get their program and financial strength
from their societies, and hence they do not need to follow a western agenda to
gain financial support or logistic aid. And hence the apprehension of many
western governments towards this phenomenon and its political implications.
So, should all the
organizations of the South be dependent and rely in their work on others? Is
the existence of strong NGOs supported by their societies not more of a
guarantee for safeguarding civil and peaceable structures of human societies?
Do these organizations not have their own concepts and experiences that could
enrich the NGOs of the North and may help liberate them from Northern-centrism?
According to Northern humanitarian organizations,
the 11th of September was a watershed. To Southern organizations, mainly Islamic
ones, it was a catastrophe by all standards. In fact, the casual harassment
turned into an unprecedented war waged by the American administration against
all organizations of any Islamic shade. Exceptional laws and underhanded
methods were used in this war to cover the false accusations, which affected
many well-known organizations of high credibility and good reputation. This
relentless war included freezing accounts and incomes, arbitrary labelling as
terrorist, and continuous inspection (not clear what you mean by inspection)
that disinclined crowds and shocked volunteers. Moreover, the Italian forces of
Kosovo (IFOR), roughly, violated the European convention on human rights and
fundamental freedoms by torturing some volunteers of one humanitarian
organization.
The Islamic humanitarian organizations are exposed
to an attack that reminds us of the McCarthy era in the United States, where
accusation is the rule and the eradication of human rights is practiced under
the protection of special laws, as well as, great inspection and control. Such
acts scared people and inhibited their self-expression. These measures affect
almost one billion Muslims, who have the right to choose their methods of work,
platforms and ways of developing their organizations.
In this context rises the concern about the problem of the absence of
co-ordination between humanitarian organizations in the North and the South.
Such co-ordination is vital as a natural bridge between the mutual aims and
functions of all humanitarian organizations.
To prevent political leaders from trampling over
this fundamental base of the masses, we call for an international conference to
bring together all humanitarian organizations whose principles are in agreement
with the international humanitarian law, and those that consider the protection
of humans from disasters as one of their main purposes. Also, international
experts will be invited to the conference as well as other governmental
organizations such as the I.R.C., UNESCO, UNICEF and W.H.O, including their
regional branches and central administrations.
The conference will be held in Paris on 9-10, January 2003. It will
include about 200 humanitarian organizations (with roughly a half of the
representatives from the North and the other from the South). Arabic, English
and French languages will be used in the conference.
1-To study the main problems that humanitarian organizations face in
this third millennium, especially globalization, the importance of dialogue
between cultures and the role of humanitarian action to interact among
peoples.
2-To deal with the structural and functional problems, such as
professionalism, voluntarism, and the internal and external political attempts
to include them, as well as the phenomenon of governments inventing unreal
humanitarian organization.
3-To reflect an image of the Islamic humanitarian organizations through
scientific studies and field research. Accordingly, to evaluate the benefits
and services these organizations have offered to people on the local and
international levels, mainly in the last two decades. Also, to show how these
humanitarian organizations are subjected to oppression by the American
administration, especially after the 11th of September and the consequences of
this on humanitarian relief action. In fact, the attacks against such
organizations would deeply affect Islamic and non-Islamic societies.
4-To stress the important role of humanitarian organizations that
contribute in establishing the basic structure of human communities, as well as
love and solidarity among people.
5-To emphasize the positive and efficient role of the humanitarian
organizations, which offer assistance to the poor, the vulnerable, victims of
war and disasters and others. Also, to establish forms of protection to
facilitate the missions of these organizations in the field.
6-To reach special mechanisms to guarantee the protection of
humanitarian and professional organizations from abuse and arbitrariness,
especially in wars.
Also, to suggest a draft for a declaration to be issued by the United
Nations General Assembly, similar to the declaration on the protection of human
rights defenders.
Practical Steps:
1-To establish a preparatory committee of nine members for the
conference.
2-To receive the agreement of the humanitarian organizations to
participate in the conference through sending letters, which present the aims,
general forms and the suggested program of the conference. Also, to send
invitations to the intended organizations.
3-To appoints certain researchers to submit studies about humanitarian
work in three countries: Egypt, Afghanistan and Palestine.
4-To fully study the media coverage of the conference in a specialized
way, because the success of the conference will rely on its publicity and the
dissemination of its results.
1-To discuss the results of unipolar globalization
on humanitarian organizations through co-opting, employing and intervention.
The war of former Yugoslavia and Kosovo can be taken as an example.
2-To present full field studies on the positions of humanitarian
organizations in selected countries such as Afghanistan, Palestine and Egypt,
in order to enrich the knowledge of the participants.
3-To evaluate the Islamic humanitarian organizations and their ability
to offer humanitarian services in times of war and peace. Also, to hear two
examples of organizations that stand with and three examples of organizations
that stand against, then to give the chance to the American Justice Department
to clarify its point of view.
Paris conference for
Humanitarian NGOs
Mobile 33668703353
E-mail:
phumanngo@hotmail.com
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