Topic: Protecting Humanitarian Workers in Conflict Zones
Country: Yemen
Delegate Name: Shamus Carey
School: Royal Oak High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Yemen position papers GLIMUN 2011 committees
Yemen is deeply concerned with the hardships many humanitarian workers are facing in areas where their only goal is to provide aid to those who need it. Many people who live in conflict zones are used to being attacked or harmed and therefore expect it from people whose only goal is to help them. These attacks on people whose only goal is to bring peace are truly terrible and Yemen strongly believes that protection needs to be provided for them.
Yemen believes that further coordination on the part of the Non-Governmental Organizations attempting to provide aid is necessary. NGOs need to make sure that they are all aware of the areas that are high-risk zones and take measure to avoid them. Also, while the open display of armed guards may be necessary to show that they are not vulnerable to attack, it should be kept at a minimum so as not to display a threat to the native peoples of the areas they are in, and thus avoid provoking attack. Yemen also believes that further measure should be taken to display the peaceful intentions of humanitarian groups so as not to pose any sort of threat to either side of the conflicts they are involved in.
Yemen believes that while the NGOs should take steps in order to ensure their own safety, measures also need to be put in place to prevent the people in conflict zones from attacking the humanitarian workers themselves. This could mean further security measures, more education for the native people about humanitarian workers and what it is they are doing, or even allowing the natives to work along side them, so that they can feel a sense of contribution and connection to the cause.
