Ockenden International

25.05.2005 A sequence of murders of female NGO staff in Afghanistan is highly unsettling for the sector. Is this a throwback to Taliban attitudes to women? Has the Afghan government inflamed the situation by its negative comments about NGOs?

26.04.2005 In a scenario that may recur in Iraq, President Karzai has blamed inefficient NGOs for the slow pace of reconstruction in Afghanistan and proposes that more aid should be channelled through the government. In response, Ockenden International suggests that there may be confusion between humanitarian, military, and commercial activities in the country.

17.12.2004 The murder of CARE-Iraq direcor Margaret Hassan demonstrates just hwo vulnerable aid workers have become around the world. And as long as governments continue to provide aid to promote strategic--rather than humanitarian--interests, the situation won't change, says the policy director for the refugee aid organization Ockenden International.