8/8/2019 6. Concept - Principles for Humanitarian Assitance for FBOs - Saeveras

1/1

FAITH BASED ORGANISATIONS FORUM ANNUAL MEETING 2010

Nairobi, November 22 23, 2010

Concept note on Principles of humanitarian assistance for FBOs:

During the last FBO Forum in 2009 the typologies of the faith based humanitarian/development and

peace organizations (FBOs) were deliberated on. There are many variations among FBOs, there are

challenges connected with being an FBO, and there are definitely advantages and added values

confirming the relevance of FBOs on the humanitarian and developmental scene.

As a follow up of last years consultation on FBOs, and after some informal bilateral consultation

between some of the members of this forum, the concern of reassuring target and host communities of

the 100% humanitarian focus and objective of the humanitarian FBOs have come up. A few

humanitarian FBOs have experienced allegations suggesting that they have a hidden agenda of

proselytation. There have also been other kinds of allegations suggesting that some FBOs have a political

agenda to change and radicalize peoples political stand points and to establish local structures as focal

points for external political agendas.

Based on this, being humanitarian FBOs that all have signed and committed ourselves to adhere to

Principles of the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and

NGOs in Disaster Relief, some of us having adopted even stricter codes, as well as we respect and follow

international humanitarian law, we have been looking for ways of removing unnecessary suspicion and

fear in regard to the strategies and objectives underlying our humanitarian assistance. There may be

FBOs who provide humanitarian assistance that may be guilty to the kind of allegations mentioned

above, but most serious international humanitarian FBOs are not. We need mechanisms for relieving

host communities from suspicion and fear while we are providing humanitarian assistance in their

context. Such mechanisms will also contribute to protecting our selves from false accusations that may

create security risks for own staff and partners working with us.

We do all as FBOs adhere to Code of Conducts that clearly formulate our 100% humanitarian mission

and identity. But this is basically what we say about ourselves and what our individual commitments are

in this regard. In order to strengthen our credibility with host communities we have been looking for

ways of strengthening the credibility of who we are and are not. The need for this clarity basically comes

from fear and suspicion on the side of members of local faith communities that are followers of a

different religion than the actual humanitarian FBO represents.

Acknowledging that this issue is disturbing members of faith communities in particular, and the fact that

FBOs representing different religions face similar challenges, we thought that this interfaith FBO forum,

hosted by ACRL, would be a relevant structure that could contribute to reflecting on ways to provide

credibility to serious FBOs that have a 100% humanitarian agenda, not having any hidden strategies of

furthering any religious or political agenda.