6/8/2004
Two More Humanitarian Workers Murdered In Afghanistan

Another two humanitarian workers were killed in Afghanistan this week, gunned down while travelling in an unmarked taxi on the road from Zurmat to Gardez in the east of the country. This follows the murder of five workers from Médecins Sans Frontières in early June whose killers still have not been brought to justice.

The two victims were Afghans working for the Catholic relief agency Malteser Hilfdienst, a German NGO, and an implementing partner of the UN's Refugees Agency, UNHCR. They were on a mission to provide basic assistance to vulnerable rural people.

According to UNHCR Emal Abdul Samad, a driver, and Mohammad Idrees Sadiq, a field officer, were travelling on the road yesterday afternoon when their taxi came under fire. Mr. Sadiq was killed instantly while Mr. Samad was airlifted to Bagram Hospital, where he later died.

Both the European Union and the UN have condemned the killings which pose serious questions about the risks now being run humanitarian NGOs. Jean Arnault, the UN's Special Representative in Afghanistan, expressed his deep condolences to the families and friends of the two victims and that said that he shared his solidarity with Malteser. The NGO has suspended all operations in the southeast and central regions of Afghanistan while it reviews the situation.

The European Commission said that the killings were further evidence that aid workers were being deliberately targeted by groups with no respect for the humanitarian principles. But they also criticised certain practices of elements of the Coalition forces which, they suggest, contribute to a blurring of the distinction between humanitarian and military personnel, and undermine the perception that humanitarian workers are neutral and impartial.

Poul Nielson, the EU Commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, strongly condemned the attack saying that the repeated targeting of humanitarian workers and the shrinking humanitarian space in Afghanistan undermined the ability to deliver crucial help. "All my sympathy goes to the families of the deceased, to their friends, and to their colleagues in Malteser Hilfsdienst.”

Categories: Afghanistan, Conflict, UN, EU

United Nations officials in Afghanistan today denounced the killing Wednesday of two German aid agency workers in an ambush in the country's southeast.

A spokesman for Jean Arnault, the Special Representative of Secretary General Kofi Annan and the chief of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said, "Violence against aid workers is unacceptable and [Mr. Arnault] vigorously condemns this attack."

UNAMA spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva said Mr. Arnault

Mr. Farhad said Malteser – which provides vocational training, cash for work projects and income generation activities in refugee return areas –. UNHCR Gardez, meanwhile, has also suspended all movements in the southeast until further notice.

"We are extremely concerned by the repeated security incidents involving aid workers and the increasingly shrinking humanitarian space," he said.

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Brussels, 6 August 2004

Commission condemns murder of NGO staff in Afghanistan

The European Commission strongly condemns the murder in Eastern Afghanistan of two national staff members of the German NGO, Malteser Hilfsdienst, who were on a mission to provide basic assistance to vulnerable rural people.

These latest killings are further evidence that aid workers are being deliberately targeted by groups with no respect for the humanitarian principles that would normally provide some protection to aid workers in conflict situations. The insecurity is compounded by certain practices of elements of the Coalition forces that contribute to a blurring of the distinction between humanitarian and military personnel, and undermine the perception that humanitarian workers are neutral and impartial.

Poul Nielson, the EU Commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, strongly condemned the attack: “I am shocked to hear about the murder of two aid workers in Afghanistan. As with other members of the humanitarian community in Afghanistan, they were ensuring that much-needed aid reached the many thousands of Afghans living in desperate conditions. The repeated targeting of humanitarian workers and the shrinking humanitarian space in Afghanistan undermines our ability to deliver that crucial help. All my sympathy goes to the families of the deceased, to their friends, and to their colleagues in Malteser Hilfsdienst”.

For the Commission, it is crucial that the perpetrators of these murders, as well as those of the five Médecins Sans Frontières workers killed in early June, are brought to justice. If the killers are able to strike with impunity then it will be too dangerous for humanitarian workers to venture into the most vulnerable and remote areas of Afghanistan.

Background

The Commission’s Humanitarian Office (ECHO) recently adopted a funding decision for €35 million to support vulnerable people in Afghanistan and Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan. Some operations have already been suspended or reduced in scale and it cannot be excluded that others may follow. ECHO is continuing to monitor the situation in co-ordination with its operational partners and other agencies. The main hope is for an improved security situation that will allow humanitarian aid operations fully to resume.