Relief and development agencies should be advocates for change, Soros tells gathering

May 9, 2007

Participants at InterAction's 2007 Forum.

Photo: M.Shupack/CWS

U.S. humanitarian organizations engaged in global relief and development should "not be afraid to bite the hand that feeds them" in advocating for needed changes in U.S. policy, international financier George Soros told the InterAction Forum last month.

He was speaking in Washington, D.C., at the annual gathering of the largest alliance of U.S-based international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations.

Church World Service is a member organization of InterAction. CWS Executive Director and CEO Rev. John L. McCullough sits on InterAction's board of directors.

InterAction members should also work for systemic change within developing countries, according to Soros. He founded and chairs the Open Society Institute which works for democratic reforms around the world.

In her speech, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice emphasized the new cohesion of U.S. security interests and its humanitarian impulses. Rice said her approach to foreign policy viewed human development as both a moral end in itself and also a central pillar of U.S. national security.

While agreeing strongly that sustainable human development and poverty reduction are essential to a stable and secure world for all people, CWS and some other InterAction members have expressed concern that Dr. Rice's "transformational diplomacy" approach could subordinate U.S. humanitarian activities to its global security interests. This could undermine the focus on genuine poverty reduction and the provision of development assistance to those countries that need it the most.

Panelists speaking on the role of faith traditions in empowering women noted that the record was mixed. Still, there were examples of positive ways in which faith communities have collaborated in advancing the goals of women’s empowerment and poverty eradication.

Several panelists proposed that the women's empowerment movement and development professionals should seek to collaborate with religious organizations in areas of common ground, leaving the areas of disagreement for future conversation after relationships have had more opportunity to build.

Rep. Nita Lowey, the new chair of the House Foreign Operations Appropriations sub-committee, criticized the war in Iraq as diverting resources from where they are genuinely needed. The subcommittee dispenses foreign aid. Rep. Lowey also called for the swift deployment of a "robust" United Nations' peacekeeping presences in Darfur and a stronger push for a peaceful settlement of the conflict there.

In addition to the plenary sessions, numerous workshops were offered on a variety of topics related to enhancing the effectiveness of members'’ work in the field. A Thursday afternoon "Advocacy Day" provided members with an opportunity to visit Congressional offices and speak up on behalf of increasing the foreign aid budget.