Afghanistan: Humanitarian Aid Workers Win Battle Against Coalition Forces

In a move applauded by aid workers, NATO commanders in Afghanistan have agreed to stop using white-painted vehicles, the United Nations has announced. The decision will apply to over 58,000 troops operating throughout the country under the auspices of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Using alternative colors will help clarify the difference between humanitarians and military forces. Non-governmental organization (NGO) aid workers who say occupants of their white SUVs are often mistaken for foreign troops. For years, aid agencies have complained that ISAF's use of similar white SUVs has made delivering aid more dangerous by blurring distinctions in the eyes of aid beneficiaries and insurgents.

"White signifies peace. If you have a white flag on a school, nobody can bombard it. It is international law that no one should attack something marked with white," Mohammad Hashin Mayar -- the deputy director of ACBAR, the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief, an umbrella organization of over 100 NGOs -- told EurasiaNet on June 2. "The NGO and aid community has many white vehicles. If the military uses this color too, white will be a target for insurgents and anti-government elements. They will target us and there won't be a distinction between aid workers and the military."

Attacks on aid workers have increased dramatically in the past three years.

As part of a lobbying campaign, in April over a dozen prominent NGOs banded together and drafted a letter of protest to the NATO secretary-general. "As some of the largest non-governmental, not-for-profit humanitarian organizations delivering essential relief to vulnerable Afghans, we wish to bring to your attention the urgent need for NATO forces to clearly distinguish themselves from civilians in Afghanistan and to support, respect and protect humanitarian workers by not using white vehicles for transporting military personnel and for military activities," the letter stated.

Mayar is cautiously excited by the NATO announcement that it would refrain from using white-painted vehicles as of June 1. "The change from white is not enough," Mayar added. "We want a distinct color for military vehicles to distinguish them from civilian colors."

The regulation will not apply to thousands of American troops on counter-insurgency operations throughout Afghanistan. NGO activists believe American commanders should adopt the same procedures. The change "shouldn't be only for NATO, but also for the rest of the international military forces," Mayar concluded. "NATO has agreed and Americans under NATO will apply [the directorate], but there are also American forces that are not under NATO command. We haven't heard from them yet."