Independent study published on Afghan perceptions of security and development in Uruzgan and Paktia

11 June 2008

As donors gather for a major conference in Paris, independent research commissioned by the European Network of NGOs on Afghanistan (ENNA) and the British & Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group (BAAG) shows quick-fix aid projects by the military in Afghanistan will not win the support of communities in the absence of effective government or the rule of law. The study also raises serious concerns about the risks that projects associated with the military pose for the safety of their implementing partners and beneficiary communities. The report 'Afghan hearts, Afghan minds: exploring Afghan perceptions of civil-military relations' is based on interviews in Northern (European and North America) capitals and extensive field research in the Afghan provinces of Paktia and Uruzgan.

The study says contracting methods used by the military to build schools and health clinics have raised serious concerns over quality. Limited community involvement and poor co-ordination with the government have resulted in projects that do not always tally with people’s real needs.

"We believe that donor countries must stop using aid for short-term military and political goals, and channel funds directly to directly to local government, UN agencies and non-governmental organisations," said Ben Hobbs, Christian Aid's Asia policy officer. "The PRTs should focus their work on training the Afghan police and army and improving security."

Aid agency staff and offices are also being increasingly targeted by insurgents who accuse them of collaboration with the military and government, the report says. The common practice by donor countries of targeting more aid to provinces where their troops are stationed has also heightened the belief that aid-giving is a partisan act. Using aid to advance political and military objectives is one of the reasons why attacks on aid workers have escalated since 2004, the report says. In 2007, 15 aid workers were killed and 88 kidnapped in Afghanistan.

"The military needs to be much more sensitive to the impact of its operations on civilian agencies and Afghan communities. If the military builds a well or a school in the midst of a warzone, it leaves the project and local people vulnerable to attack. Afghanistan is littered with such projects symbolising failed development and insecurity," Lex Kassenberg, Country Director of CARE Afghanistan.

During the coming months, the European Network of NGOs in Afghanistan (ENNA) who commissioned the study, engage both international policy-makers and agencies on the ground to address the current gaps between policy rhetoric and experience on the ground.

ends

Notes to editors:

1. The report drew on research carried out with aid agency staff, government employees, religious and tribal leaders, military personnel, diplomats and academics in Kabul and in the two southern provinces of Uruzgan and Paktia, where the ongoing insurgency and criminal activities pose a major threat to aid delivery.
2. ENNA is the umbrella organisation for the European non-governmental aid agencies working in Afghanistan.
3. BAAG is the umbrella organisation for the British & Irish Agencies working in Afghanistan.
4. This press release may not represent the views of all ENNA and BAAG member agencies.
5. There were 42 reported security incidents affecting NGOs in the first five months of 2008 (data from 26 out of 34 Afghan provinces).
   

For more information or interviews please contact:

· Amber Meikle, Care International UK, meikle@careinternational.org

Tel: +44 (0) 207 934 9348

· Ben Hobbs, Christian Aid, bhobbs@christian-aid.org, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7523 2064

· Abdul Basir, BAAG, abdul.basir@refugeecouncil.org.uk, + 44 (0)20 7346 6773