Safe Haven

Reporting from the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), Keerthana Nimmagadda writes about the discussion over the political and socioeconomic measures necessary to rebuild the regions struck by the Islamic State (IS).

“Be realistic, and not optimistic. Hope is dangerous.” – The Commander of the French Republic

The members of the coalition began the debate by discussing the need for building schools and hospitals in the regions that were affected by the conflict. The Commander of Malaysia stressed the importance of providing education to the civilians from the conflict regions. He went on to affirm that the youth is easily influenced by external factors, and it must be provided with education, to reduce the possibilities of getting recruited by IS militants. Malaysia offered the required aid – as long as it used for the right reasons.

The Commander of the State of Qatar raised a question on why CJTF should be the body to oversee the political and socioeconomic measures. He was joined by the Representative of the Republic of Turkey, who distinguished that this council is a CJTF, and not a Human Rights Council (HRC). Turkey added that before attempting to focus on socioeconomic measures, the council must help in putting a stopper on the increasing count of civilian body count. The delegates were countered by Malaysia, who recalled that the council was in the fourth phase of its operation – Support Stablisation. He declared that the conflict regions cannot be stabilized without the socioeconomic measures, and that they must take precedence over anything else. The Commander of the Republic of Iraq (Iraq) chimed in by saying that any kind of rehabilitation requires financial aid – for which it will approach the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and not the CJTF.

The Representative of the French Republic (France) gave his two cents to the discussion by proposing the idea of sanctuaries: essentially, hospitals and schools that are a lot more guarded and protected. He added that the idea stemmed from the thought that schools and hospitals are thought to be the most vulnerable by IS militants. The Commander of the United States of America (USA) was skeptical of the idea – he wondered why a nation would require sanctuaries, when establishments already exist in the area. He recommended that the council focus on providing security to the said establishments. The USA also said that these regions are past the age of fascism. He argued that there was a compelling need for a legislative assembly. This was supported by Turkey, who declared that the regions are ready for a federal and democratic system, which included a fair power and revenue sharing system.

As the debate came to an end, the coalition was in unison that the conflict-struck areas indeed require political and socioeconomic measures to rebuild their ways of life; it was only divided on the matter of whether the coalition was responsible of the provision of the said measures.