The Mercenaries and the NGOs

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August 26, 2010

Privatizing the Occupation

The Mercenaries and the NGOs

By YVES ENGLER

http://www.counterpunch.org/engler08262010.html

Market extremists argue that the private sector can do almost
everything better than governments. The most extreme do not
concede the qualifier “almost” and argue that even the police and
army should be privatized.

The growth of private security companies (PSC) is generally seen
as a result of the success of extreme market arguments.

Less commented upon is a parallel growth of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) engaged in healthcare, education and social
services development, especially in the Third World, that was
once provided by public institutions.

Interestingly, at least one insider has linked the two. An
advisor to ArmorGroup and former NGO employee, James Fennell,
explains these organizations similar historical trajectory: “The
increasing role of commercial security companies may be viewed in
a similar vein to the increased policy and technical input of
NGOs over the past two decades to the provision of official
relief and development assistance to Southern nations.”

Beyond similar ideological roots, PSCs and NGOs often have more
direct ties. Recently, CARE, Save the Children, CARITAS and World
Vision all hired PSCs to protect their operations abroad.

Worried about their image Western NGOs generally prefer to
conceal their ties to PSCs but a number of technical studies shed
light on the topic. One survey found that “every major
international humanitarian organization (defined as the UN
humanitarian agencies and the largest international NGOs) has
paid for armed security in at least one operational context, and
approximately 22% of the major humanitarian organizations
reported using armed security services during the last year
[2007].”

USAID required the NGOs it contracted in post-occupation Iraq to
hire private security. According to Corey Levine, a human-rights
consultant, “My organization, a small NGO working to build the
capacity of Iraq’s civil society, was no exception. Approximately
40 percent of our $60 million budget went to protecting the 15
international staff. Our security company was South African.”

CARE USA also hired former South African military personnel to
protect their operation in Iraq. Peter Singer, author of
Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry,
describes the militarization of NGO work in Iraq. “The extent to
which things have changed is illustrated by one non-governmental
humanitarian organization that hired a PMF [private military
firm] in Iraq to protect its facilities and staff, a contract
which included the NGOs hiring snipers.”

The occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan significantly increased
NGO-PSC ties. In 2006 Singer noted, “Industry representatives
estimate that approximately 25 percent of the ‘high-end’ firms
that provide armed services and over 50 percent of firms
providing logistical support have worked for humanitarian
clients.” ArmorGroup, Global Risk Strategies, RONCO, Control
Risks Group, Erinys, Hart Security, Lifeguard, MPRI, KROLL,
Olive, Southern Cross, Triple Canopy and Blackwater have
apparently all worked for humanitarian organizations.

ArmorGroup is an NGO favorite. In 2002 its clients included
UNICEF, CARE, CARITAS and the Red Cross. ArmorGroup markets
itself to NGOs. They’ve hired a former CARE UK official, James
Fennell, and claim to be an industry leader in setting ethical
standards. While this may be true, the company has seen its share
of scandals. Last August one of its employees shot and killed two
colleagues and wounded his Iraqi interpreter. Before joining
ArmorGroup Danny Fitzsimons had a number of run-ins with the law
in England and was let go by another PSC for unstable behavior.
Corporate Mercenaries describes another scandal: “Defence Systems
Colombia (DSC), a subsidiary of DSL (now ArmorGroup), was
implicated in providing detailed intelligence to the notorious
XVIth Brigade of the Colombian army, identifying groups opposed
to [oil company] BPs presence in the region of Casanare. This
intelligence has been linked to executions and disappearances. “

Southern Cross is another PSC working for aid agencies that
portrays itself as an ethical-minded enterprise. But it also has
a murky past. Southern Cross was founded in Sierra Leone in 1999
by Cobus Claasens, an officer at Executive Outcomes, which was
created by former Special Forces from apartheid South Africa.

Before beyond disbanded Executive Outcomes was the face of all
that is wrong with PSCs. Today, that distinction is held by Xe
Services, formerly Blackwater, which has its own ties to NGOs. A
2006 Humanitarian Policy Group report claimed Blackwater had been
contracted by humanitarian groups and in February Pakistan’s
North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) Minister, Bashir Bilour,
admitted that “Blackwater is present in Pakistan and is operating
in the NWFP as well as other areas. Bilour said that Blackwater
was engaged in guarding U.S. consulate staff and foreign NGO
workers.”

Any group claiming a “humanitarian” or “development” purpose
should obviously not hire Blackwater, but where should the line
be drawn? Contracting even the most principled PSC opens up a
series of ethical questions.

By hiring PSCs are humanitarian organizations endorsing the
booming private security business? PSCs are generally keen to
discuss their ties to NGOs because they believe it helps
“legitimate their business.”

Koenraad Van Brabant asks a more important question. By hiring
PSCs are NGOs “contributing to increased wider, public security”
or “the privatization of security, whereby those who are able to
pay can buy security while others have to live in fear”? NGO
personnel may have the means to purchase security, but this is
not a luxury afforded to most.

Reliant on contracts from Western governments NGOs often follow
the military into war zones. In these settings they are often
perceived as hostile agents of an occupying power. As a result
they need security.

Is it really any surprise that NGOs, which replace public
institutions delivering services turn to PSCs, which do the same?

Yves Engler is the co-author of Canada in Haiti: Waging War on
the Poor Majority. His most recent book is Canada and Israel:
Building Apartheid. For more information, go to his website,
yvesengler.com

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[ROB]

The history of Monaco makes me nervous though. ;)

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