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In what way can NGO’s contribute to the European Security and Defence Policy?
I do so from the perspective of the Johanniter- Unfall-Hilfe, which operates on both the national and international level, but I hope that I can also speak for the other diversified relief organizations in Germany that have a similar structure.
WHO ARE WE?
The Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe was founded in 1952 as an affiliate of the evangelical Johanniter Order. The spirit in which the help is offered is expressed in the preamble of the statute of our association. The preambles states: “In the awareness of the tradition of Christian Charity, to which the Johanniter have been committed for centuries, and challenged by the distress and dangers in the world, Johanniter-Unfall- Hilfe, in responsibility before God, will assist suffering people of our time.
Our association is a non-profit organization. It is a recognized voluntary relief association seeking to improve the fate of the wounded and ill and of the armed forces in the field. We regard this status as fundamentally right and essential. Currently, the JUH has more than about 10,300 full-time aid workers and approximately 22,000 volunteers. Volunteer work is particularly encouraged, and when an individual is selected for carrying out a specific operation the selection criterion is not if he or she is a full-time or parttime aid worker but rather if he or she has t he required skills and is psychologically and physically fit for the operation. Specifically in Germany, the relief organizations work according to the principle of subsidiary. This means that the state draws upon the skills of the relief organizations while, by mutual agreement with the “Humanitarian Aid Coordination Committee”, the administration and management are handled by the relief organizations.
The state steps in only when they reach the limits of their capabilities. Each foreign assignment is coordinated by this Coordination Committee of the Foreign Office and corresponds to the individual specialized skills of the individual relief organizations. What is requested, however, is that the capabilities and co-operations be combined and interlinked, as has been done by the Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe by developing a special alliance with the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW = Technisches Hilfswerk), an institution of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. In this context, the two organizations aim at a joint international certification. Examples of joint activities include an operation carried out in Goma and a relief mission in New Orleans in 2005.
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