Topic: Protecting Humanitarian Workers in Conflict Zones
Country: Russia
Delegate Name: Gurdit Suri
School: Forest Hills Central High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Russia position papers GLIMUN 2011 committees
Our society’s demand for international aid and help is consistently increasing exponentially. The WorldConcern Organization released figures last fall stating that from the past ten years demand for humanitarian aid has increased six-fold to crisis plagued areas. 3 times increased, has violence upon humanitarian aid workers as one study states by the Cultural and Human Rights Committee in 2009. Russia has contributed 208 million US dollars to humanitarian aid in areas such as Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Haiti, Ukraine, Japan, Congo, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and various other countries. Russia provides large forces of humanitarian workers through NGOs such as the Tolstoy foundation as well as many government sponsored aid programs. Given the increase of violence, Russia absolutely affirms the need for safety of those helping to save lives and create positive contributions to society through their service.
Humanitarian workers have been considered independent and impartial members of the international community, which has determined them as immune to intervention in any global conflict zones. Culturally, many societies no longer see this as a valid postulate especially given the targeting of individualized groups and peoples in conflict zones. Russia finds this an unacceptable resolve in conflicts zones and strongly affirms itself in a political bloc of democratic societies who are unrelenting in their goals to further protect humanitarian aid workers.
Russia is now creating regulations, after the death of a Russian humanitarian aid worker in Sudan, for its own humanitarian workers in its own country in order to assist in any conflict zone. We have created requirements for security detail, location authorization, as well as creating a person of interest list as to insure people who might be considered greater targets of violence such as organization leaders, to be provided with optimum protection. For NGOs to officially send humanitarian aid, we are requiring longer training requirements to insure proper experience and furthered initiative of safety precautions.
Russia realizes that humanitarian efforts must also be superbly funded; humanitarian efforts need to be affirmed as neutral to help remove political affiliation and help make aid an efficient process. Russia also feels that through the invention of a bill of rights for humanitarian aid workers, that international obligation and duties to aid workers can be clearly outlined and requirements for humanitarian aid to occur can be properly set into place. We need to clearly outline penalties for breaking this humanitarian aid bill of rights and realize that such penalties should be carried out with the fullest extent of the law. We must also place pressure on countries to assist in the prosecution of those who inflict harm to humanitarian workers through creating trade restrictions and unfortunately, reducing aid efforts within those specific regions. Russia also realizes that however demanding our goals may be, that the Security Council is the only body within the United Nations that can truly demand any type of action. Realizing that lives are potentially at stake from people who intend and cause no harm, Russia feels that in either coordination with the Security Council or joint action with the Security Council that resolution passed from both bodies can help to create lasting and effective changes. Russia also strongly believes that since it is a permanent member of the Security Council that it can help further the interests of humanitarian aid workers within that body more effectively in general consensus with the general assembly.
Realizing the need for protection for these workers and the need for strong resolutions and amendments to help qualm humanitarian worker violence, Russia hopes eventually through the action of DISEC that we can help create a means to an end for humanitarian violence in conflict zones.
