Japan Press Weekly

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2015 August 26 - September 1 TOP3 [POLITICS]

NGO: Abe’s war bills will turn humanitarian aid groups into targets of armed attacks

The Abe government-proposed war legislation intends to expand the Japanese Self-Defense Forces’ activities in UN Peace Keeping Operations and enable the SDF to use arms in order to “guard” Japanese NGOs involved in humanitarian assistance activities abroad. Imai Takaki, an official of the Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC) engaging in activities in South Sudan, said in an Akahata interview on August 30 that the SDF’s “guard” will actually expose NGOs to the danger of being attacked. The following is an excerpt of his interview:

Since a civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013, Dinkas supporting President Salva Kiir have repeatedly attacked Nuers opposing the President. In the capital city of Juba, many Nuers are living in camps set up by the UN to avert attacks from Dinkas.

Almost all the attackers are residents with weapons. It is impossible to tell armed residents from ordinary people. If SDF troops become involved in this civil war, they may mistakenly shoot unarmed civilians.

If the SDF shot a Dinka, Dinkas around the country may regard the SDF as their enemy. The same may be said of the Nuers.

If a nation intervenes militarily in a regional conflict or hostility in another country, the action may provoke hostility from one of the conflicting forces or even from both. If many local people come to feel antipathy toward the SDF, it will be difficult for Japanese humanitarian aid groups to continue with their activities there.

The most important thing is for the international community to work together to bring the civil war to an end as early as possible. Based on its image as a peace-loving nation, Japan should make more diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict in the African country.

To those providing humanitarian assistance in hot spots, it is vital for them to maintain their impartial and neutral stance. If an NGO performs its activities under the protection of a particular nation’s military, the NGO will become a target of armed groups in the area. Therefore, the majority of humanitarian aid organizations make it a principle to reject offers of military escort except as a last resort.

The war legislation aiming to enable the SDF to guard NGOs abroad ignores the fundamental principle of NGOs’ conduct as well as the real dangers facing them.