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Clinton Presidential Records
Mandatory Declassification Review
This is not a presidential record. This is used as an administrative
marker by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Staff.
Documents from this Mandatory Declassification Review were
released in full.
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PROPOSED "WHITE HELMETS" HUMANITARIAN FORCE
The Problem: Sudden, massive refugee flows and devastation precipitated by ethnic wars have
severely tested the world's capacity to respond rapidly to humanitarian crises. The flight of Iraq's
Kurds to Turkey, the exodus of Rwandans to Zaire, the flow of Cuban and Haitian refugees
toward U.S shores, and the horror inflicted on civilians by war in Bosnia and Somalia have
combined to stretch thin the international community's existing capabilities to respond.
The current system is an ad hoc hodge-podge of civilian voluntary groups supported by a few
international agencies and some governmental capabilities. The fallback instrument has inevitably
been various national militaries, particularly the U.S. military. The shortcomings of the current
system include its lethargy, lack of large-scale logistics capabilities, paucity of specialized
personnel at the ready, inequitable financing, and over-reliance on U.S. armed forces.
Proposed Solutions: With humanitarian relief capabilities taxed to the breaking point, several
proposals have emerged to relieve the overburdened status quo.
President Menem's "White Helmets" Initiative (WHI): Argentine President Carlos
Menem has proposed the formation of "an international body of volunteers."
Denominated "white helmets," the group would be composed of national peace corps-type
volunteers trained to undertake purely humanitarian operations - provision of food, health
care, potable water, etc. — on short notice. The various national elements, which would
concentrate on their respective domestic humanitarian problems between international
crises, would combine into a fully inter-operable, multinational force when needed.
Menem foresees the "white helmets" being placed at the disposal of the UN. He proposes
the creation of a UN agency - or relying on the existing UN Volunteers program - to
serve as a clearinghouse for information concerning capabilities and personnel and to
coordinate deployments during humanitarian crises. Financing would derive, in Menem's
view, from "voluntary contributions of funds" to "supplement and augment possible
budgetary allocations."
The strength of Menem's proposal is also its principal weakness: voluntarism. While
large numbers of volunteer "white helmets" could doubtless be assembled on paper, the
capacity actually to train, equip and rapidly deploy them in a coordinated manner depends
on substantial funding, organizational structure, a sophisticated logistics network, and a
cadre of professionals with experience to manage the complex operations associated with
humanitarian relief operations.
Carnegie's International Crisis Group (ICG): In contrast to WHI - which posits the
creation of legions of humanitarian volunteers - the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace suggests a more modest effort. Carnegie believes the current system
merely needs a "catalyst" in the form of a private group of international humanitarian relief
experts that would be available for immediate dispatch in an emergency. This
International Crisis Group (ICG) would perform several functions, including early
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warning, field monitoring and evaluation, advice, advocacy, grant-making, research,
analysis and training.
Funding for an initial two-year pilot phase for the ICG - some $12 million -- would come
from "a diversified base" of governmental and private sources. The terms of follow-on
funding would have to be worked out.
The key problem with the Carnegie proposal is that it dramatically underestimates the
nature and extent of the current system's flaws. Able managers, expert forecasters and
sophisticated private fundraisers are certainly necessary but are not sufficient to remedy
the ills that plague the current approach. A parallel "force structure" of humanitarian
relief personnel - trained, equipped and on call - is the likely predicate to an adequate
international response to humanitarian crises.
Kofi Annan's UN Humanitarian Assistance Teams (UNHATs)
UN Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Kofi Annan has proposed the
formation of UN Humanitarian Assistance Teams (UNHATs). The teams would be "an
international corps" of military and civilian personnel available for rapid deployment to
crisis areas. UN members would be invited to earmark "trained and equipped components
of their military forces and/or other standing organized governmental bodies." The UN
would provide permanent central authority to coordinate the deployment and field
operations of these disparate national components.
UNHATs continued reliance on national military organizations is its chief disadvantage.
Military readiness for missions only armed forces can perform ~ deterrence, multinational
intervention and peacekeeping - could be severely degraded if those forces are also
assigned the task of undertaking humanitarian operations. Further, UNHAT does not
leverage the efficiencies that attend private, non-govemmental mechanisms, such as
private contractors and risks generating another layer of UN bureaucracy to deal with
crises that require flexibility and innovation.
NSC Staff's Humanitarian Relief Contractors (HRCs): The NSC Staff posits that
neither an entirely voluntary nor wholly managerial nor UN-centered solution will likely be
sufficient or effective. Rather, what is needed is a program that incorporates the best of
the "White Helmets" Initiative (personnel), the ICG proposal (expertise), and the UNHAT
proposal (organization), while supplementing these with a fully-funded program to retain
commercial Humanitarian Relief Contractors (HRCs). The HRCs would be responsible
for procuring and stockpiling materials needed for relief operations, arranging for
transportation of these stockpiles and personnel to crisis areas, and serving as mid-level
managers that would perhaps direct "White Helmet" volunteers in the field and implement
directions given by ICG-type experts.
To UN or not UN: The UNHAT proposal is grounded in the formation of a new UN agency.
President Menem would also create a new UN coordination agency, but proposes his "White
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Helmets" retain their independence. Carnegie points to the flexibility of its purely private
approach. The advantage of a UN-sponsored, contractor-based program is that it offers private
sector flexibility and responsiveness but does so as part of an integrated UN response to a given
humanitarian crisis. Only the UN, for example, can successfully manage the transition from "Blue
Helmets" (peacekeepers) to "White Helmets" (relief-keepers) once a crisis situation has been
politically and militarily stabilized to permit humanitarian relief operations. The UN connection
also provides political access,financialand economic resources, and organizational structure that
would likely not be present in a purely private effort. Use of independent, private contractors
would minimize potential for bureaucratic bloat and institutional rigidity - conditions fatal to any
rapid reaction, highly efficient humanitarian relief effort.
Further study: President Menem, the Carnegie Endowment and Undersecretary General Annan
have done a great service in highlighting theflawsin the current international humanitarian relief
system and in laying the foundation for a systemic repair. The optimal solution will doubtless
build on their suggestions. Further study and discussion among the UN, member governments,
and private relief organizations is clearly justified. A particularly important issue will be how to
accommodate eclecticism - use of volunteers, contractors, private experts, and UN bureaucrats within the framework of a coherent, organized international response to humanitarian crises. One
possible aim of these initial discussions would be generating recommendations for consideration
by Heads of State at the upcoming UN Security Council Summit in January 1995.
CLINTON LIBRARY P O O O Y
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<strong>Declassified Documents</strong>
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Declassified Documents concerning Antony Blinken, NSC Speechwriter
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2013-0470-M
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This Mandatory Declassification Review contains material from the files of Antony Blinken, NSC Speechwriter. Material includes a background paper for a proposed African peacekeeping force.
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Antony Blinken
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<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7585787" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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2/6/2015
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2013-0470-M
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Foreign Policy
Peacekeeping