According to the New York Times, bureaucratic red tape, escalating violence, and governmental failure to align its practice with its rhetoric have all diminished the capacity of humanitarian aid to reach those who need it most. As Professor Fowler discussed in today's class, there has been increasing violence against aid workers over the past few months. The Sudanese government signed an agreement with the UN to raise restrictions on aid workers in 2004, but has made no efforts at enforcement. The arduous bureaucratic process entails innumerable amounts of paperwork, visa applications, and fees. According to the article, the leading relief NGOs hire five employees to navigate the bureaucratic process. The humanitarian affairs commissioner of Sudan (Does this position seem counterintuitive to anyone?), Kosti Manibe explained, “The procedures are created so as to make it easy, not make it difficult." Sure, that's exactly what the government in Khartoum wants, to make it easier for humanitarian assistance to reach the refugees it would rather have dead.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/world/africa/27darfur.html
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