Ruben Andersson
Ruben Andersson joined AlertNet in 2006 after a stint at the United Nations in New York. With a background in social anthropology, he has worked with NGOs in Latin America, Europe and elsewhere before branching into journalism and humanitarian research.
The mystery of the missing aid dollars
Author: Ruben Andersson
U.S. anti-terrorism legislation seems to have found an unlikely target: Scandinavian aid operations. Norwegian and Swedish development agencies have had some of their cash confiscated on a bumpy ride through U.S. banks, local media report, triggering concerns that providing international aid is getting trickier for organisations that transfer money in dollars. Swedish trade union body LO-TCO had aid money stopped en route to Liberia, while Norwegian Church Aid had funds "for countries that the USA disliked" withheld, according to reports by the Swedish news agency TT and the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet. The transfer troubles, which are now causing some agencies to shy away from using dollars for their transactions, raise questions about the impact of the growing body of anti-terrorism legislation on aid operations. ...
Author: Ruben Andersson
U.S. anti-terrorism legislation seems to have found an unlikely target: Scandinavian aid operations. Norwegian and Swedish development agencies have had some of their cash confiscated on a bumpy ride through U.S. banks, local media report, triggering concerns that providing international aid is getting trickier for organisations that transfer money in dollars. Swedish trade union body LO-TCO had aid money stopped en route to Liberia, while Norwegian Church Aid had funds "for countries that the USA disliked" withheld, according to reports by the Swedish news agency TT and the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet. The transfer troubles, which are now causing some agencies to shy away from using dollars for their transactions, raise questions about the impact of the growing body of anti-terrorism legislation on aid operations. ...
Somalia: to bomb or not to bomb?
Author: Ruben Andersson
It seems to take bombs to push Somalia into the headlines, at least judging from the piles of comments and heaps of news that has followed the U.S. attacks on suspected Islamist militant targets there. But while opinions abound on "terrorism" and security, there's precious little in the press on Somalia's shaky humanitarian situation. First, the praise for intervention. Con Coughlin in London's Daily Telegraph is as impressed with the (Washington-trained, he notes) Ethiopian forces who took Mogadishu as with the U.S. strikes on militant hideouts believed to shelter al-Qaeda operatives. A "rare combination of African steadfastness and raw American power" has scored an important victory, he concludes. ...
Author: Ruben Andersson
It seems to take bombs to push Somalia into the headlines, at least judging from the piles of comments and heaps of news that has followed the U.S. attacks on suspected Islamist militant targets there. But while opinions abound on "terrorism" and security, there's precious little in the press on Somalia's shaky humanitarian situation. First, the praise for intervention. Con Coughlin in London's Daily Telegraph is as impressed with the (Washington-trained, he notes) Ethiopian forces who took Mogadishu as with the U.S. strikes on militant hideouts believed to shelter al-Qaeda operatives. A "rare combination of African steadfastness and raw American power" has scored an important victory, he concludes. ...
What's wrong with aid?
Author: Ruben Andersson
A controversial book by the Norwegian former head of relief agency Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) says politics has hijacked humanitarianism, and accuses the top five aid organisations in his country of being something of a cartel.
Morten Rostrup's book "Felt" - which means "Field", and is so far only published in Norwegian - argues that aid agencies are increasingly colluding with politicians, soldiers and rebels in pushing humanitarian relief into a twilight zone where civilians and relief workers become targets on and off the battlefield.
...
Author: Ruben Andersson
A controversial book by the Norwegian former head of relief agency Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) says politics has hijacked humanitarianism, and accuses the top five aid organisations in his country of being something of a cartel.
Morten Rostrup's book "Felt" - which means "Field", and is so far only published in Norwegian - argues that aid agencies are increasingly colluding with politicians, soldiers and rebels in pushing humanitarian relief into a twilight zone where civilians and relief workers become targets on and off the battlefield.
...
How squeaky clean are aid workers?
Author: Ruben Andersson
Aid workers should be rejoicing - while bribe-taking police and corrupt politicians, businessmen and lawyers all get their knuckles rapped, they seem to survive unscathed in a survey of global opinion on corruption out today. But it's a close call. It's yet another of those name-and-shame moments that Transparency International (TI) does so well - this time the global corruption watchdog has turned to normal people rather than experts to pick the most corrupt baddies of the year. ...
Author: Ruben Andersson
Aid workers should be rejoicing - while bribe-taking police and corrupt politicians, businessmen and lawyers all get their knuckles rapped, they seem to survive unscathed in a survey of global opinion on corruption out today. But it's a close call. It's yet another of those name-and-shame moments that Transparency International (TI) does so well - this time the global corruption watchdog has turned to normal people rather than experts to pick the most corrupt baddies of the year. ...
Thumbs up or down for African prize?
Author: Ruben Andersson
With cheerleaders like South African elder statesman Nelson Mandela, ex-U.S. President Bill Clinton and Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen, who could possibly object to the new prize for good African leadership? The launch of a multi-million award for a well-behaved African leader has generated press in the West but so far precious little comment in African newspapers. Amid the boos and hurrahs from overseas, at least you could argue it's a more dignified reason to focus on Africa than Madonna's Malawi adoption debacle. The prize founder, British-based Sudanese telecoms tycoon Mo Ibrahim, says the award will add to the three choices African leaders usually face as they perch at the wobbly end of their time in office: relative poverty, finding a way to extend their term in office, or siphoning offf some funds for retirement. The prize will "give African leaders a fourth choice: govern well, and win a substantial prize", Ibrahim enthuses on the Guardian website. What's more, the $5 million prize cash won't get thrown around on a whim but will chug through a rigorous selection process based on an index developed at Harvard University. As Ibrahim says, "the aim is to take good governance out of the closet". ...
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Author: Ruben Andersson
With cheerleaders like South African elder statesman Nelson Mandela, ex-U.S. President Bill Clinton and Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen, who could possibly object to the new prize for good African leadership? The launch of a multi-million award for a well-behaved African leader has generated press in the West but so far precious little comment in African newspapers. Amid the boos and hurrahs from overseas, at least you could argue it's a more dignified reason to focus on Africa than Madonna's Malawi adoption debacle. The prize founder, British-based Sudanese telecoms tycoon Mo Ibrahim, says the award will add to the three choices African leaders usually face as they perch at the wobbly end of their time in office: relative poverty, finding a way to extend their term in office, or siphoning offf some funds for retirement. The prize will "give African leaders a fourth choice: govern well, and win a substantial prize", Ibrahim enthuses on the Guardian website. What's more, the $5 million prize cash won't get thrown around on a whim but will chug through a rigorous selection process based on an index developed at Harvard University. As Ibrahim says, "the aim is to take good governance out of the closet". ...
