Many aid groups unable to manage war zone risks: Report

New York, June 23 (IANS/WAM) Humanitarian aid workers want to help people in some of the biggest war zones, but extreme risks and threats are paralysing their operations, said a United Nations-backed report.

"'Conflict parties' lack of respect for the fundamental tenets of international humanitarian law and the brutality of today's armed conflicts make it extremely difficult for these brave aid workers to deliver humanitarian assistance in complex emergencies," said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien on Thursday.

The report, produced by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Jindal School of International Affairs in India, is based on interviews with more than 2,000 international and national aid workers.

It includes case studies on humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic (CAR), Syria and Yemen.

"It is our duty as aid workers to work where needs are greatest," said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the NRC.

"But our international humanitarian community is failing too many people in too many places, from Syria and Yemen to South Sudan and Nigeria. Extreme risks and threats are paralysing too many organisations and their ability to deliver aid and save lives," Egeland said.

Among its findings, the report found that as overall needs in the field have grown, so have the funding gaps, which necessitate cutting of projects and aid work.

--IANS/WAM

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