The media response to the crisis
83. The response of the media to the crisis has been
disappointing. A great deal of attention has been paid to the
military side of the campaign with little devoted to the humanitarian
crisis. Clare Short said "I think a lot of the public commentary
on the conflict as well as the humanitarian situation has not
been well-informed"[125].
Before access to much of Afghanistan was possible, Justin Forsyth
of Oxfam told us "¼within
Afghanistan there is a silent humanitarian crisis going on which
will not be on our television screens. People will die slowly
and in lonely ways in small villages and mountains and it will
not grab the headlines of the news"[126].
Once the Taliban began to collapse and access to the most vulnerable
people was possible the world's media still chose to follow the
military. What little coverage of the humanitarian crisis there
has been has focused on refugees and refugee camps while the real
crisis is inside Afghanistan among the internally displaced and
vulnerable populations. A few reporters have chosen to focus on
the humanitarian crisis but much more could be done to show the
world the true nature of the crisis and the difficulties the humanitarian
effort faces every day.
Politicisation of humanitarian
assistance
84. Nearly all the witnesses who gave evidence to
the inquiry referred to the neutrality of humanitarian assistance.
Increasingly, modern complex emergencies are involving the simultaneous
deployment of military and humanitarian personnel and the lines
between the two are increasingly blurred - often because of the
difficulties in delivering aid in areas of high insecurity and
conflict. In relation to Afghanistan, the main concerns for western
governments in recent years have been terrorism, drugs, refugees
and women's rights. Peace-making in Afghanistan was delegated
to the UN but then not fully supported by the commitment and support
of western governments. Their main responses have been either
a strategic withdrawal from Afghanistan, or episodic military
action and sanctions. In a recent article, Mohammed Haneef Atmar
said "In these conditions, humanitarian aid works at best
as a fig leaf for political action, at worst as an instrument
of foreign policy to isolate the Taliban"[127].
The legitimate foreign-policy objectives of donor nations should
not impinge on humanitarian actions.
101 Ev 113, [Para 2] Back
102 Ev
85 Back
103 Ev
2 Back
104 Ev
125 [Annex G] Back
105 Ev
126, [Annex 9, Para 6] Back
106 We
are grateful to Simon Maxwell for his help with the analysis of
the various options for military intervention Back
107 Guardian,
4/12/01 Back
108 Ev
4 Back
109 Q185 Back
110 Q187 Back
111 Q185
and Q186 Back
112 Q5 Back
113 Q5 Back
114 Q209 Back
115 Ev
116, [Para 26] Back
116 Ev
116, [Para 26] Back
117 Ev
125, [Annex G, Para 1] Back
118 Q206 Back
119 Q183 Back
120 Ev
1 Back
121 Ev
3 Back
122 Q200 Back
123 Q205 Back
124 Ev
107-8, [Paras 16-23] Back
125 Q190 Back
126 Q53 Back
127 Atmar,
The Politicisation of humanitarian aid and its consequences for
Afghans, Humanitarian Exchange, ODI, September 2001 Back