Working alongside Dutch armed forces requires a clear division of tasks

The Dutch parliament decided in February that it would send a peacekeeping force to Uruzgan to help the ISAF mission in Afghanistan. HealthNet TPO has been asked to assist the rehabilitation of Uruzgan, as we have work experience in this region.

Safety and Rehabilitation

The discussion in the Netherlands at the moment seems to be fuelled by the misconception that safety comes before peace and development. Yet the idea that there is a binding logic in the succession of peace and development after safety does not correspond with the day-to-day reality of the Afghan people in Uruzgan. Peace and rehabilitation are different aspects of the same complex reality, which influence each other.

HealthNet TPO

HealthNet TPO has been working for the development of health care in Afghanistan continuously since 1993. We have projects in the field of psychosocial care, malaria reduction and mother and childcare. Before, during and after the Taliban regime we have found ways to develop health care in ‘dangerous areas.' In the south, we have thus far worked in Kandahar and Helmand. Those provinces are more dangerous than Uruzgan. Nevertheless, through building health systems with the local population, the population has succeeded in gaining larger control over their own lives – an their own security. So why we have to be in Uruzgan is crystal-clear to us.

Safety Risks

We have always avoided structural cooperation with any militia or military group. The most important reason is the safety risk for our own staff. Armed forces, and especially foreign armed forces, are seldom popular and Afghanistan is not an exception. The mission Enduring Freedom in the south, focused on eliminating the Taliban and Al Quada, is not an ideal background for rehabilitation by armed forces – to say the least.

Clear division of Tasks

HealthNet TPO is looking at the possibilities to continue to support the rehabilitation of Uruzgan work – even in the presence of Dutch armed forces. This requires a clear division of tasks. The armed forces are to focus on stability and security. That is their strength and that is what the population expects them to do. The rehabilitation of ‘civil society' however is a ‘civil society' matter; armed forces should not be part of it. In this respect it is a positive sign that the Dutch troops in the ISAF mission arte open for discussion and understand the need for this clarity in mandates and division of tasks. It is in that sense that we are talking with the ministry of defence: we ‘collaborate' here, to avoid being seen as partners in Uruzgan.

Added value

HealthNet TPO has to meet its commitments towards Afghanistan. As a NGO we have nothing to gain by cooperating with the armed forces. Yet we see the possible positive outcomes for the Afghan population. The possibility lies in the fact that the presence of local and international NGO's can help the Afghan people feel supported in making Uruzgan livable again. The presence of the mission, with a clear and a fervent mandate, supporting the population in rehabilitation their home, by protecting them, could be an added value.

Willem van de Put

Director HealthNet TPO