Defence Business: CIMIC and the ADF | ADM Apr 2009

Susan Hutchinson, Melbourne

The new Asia Pacific Civil-Military Centre of Excellence, opened in Queanbeyan in November 2008, should help ensure a more holistic and therefore more effective response to Australia's security challenges.

In the Australian Army, civil-military cooperation is the responsibility of CIMIC.

In an era of increased recognition of human security, the CIMIC capability adds depth of both knowledge and capability to planning and the conduct of operations in the complex emergencies which the ADF operates.

Civilian organisations have diverse approaches to short term emergency relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and development.

This diversity, while often difficult for Defence Force organisations and members to deal with, is vital in addressing the varied causes of insecurity that threaten Australia and our troops.

The Asia Pacific Civil-Military Centre of Excellence is a civilian Department of Defence organisation that can facilitate communication, coordination, and cooperation between the ADF, other government agencies and Non Government Organisations (NGOs) in Australia.

The Centre aims to function as a research, training and advisory body which will work to strengthen the quality and effectiveness of Australia's civil-military engagement in peace-building, reconstruction, stabilisation and disaster relief response.

This will be achieved by streamlining the coordination between security, economic, emergency management, institution-building and non-government organisations thereby working to avoid continued instability and revolving door military deployments.

Where is CIMIC now?

CIMIC specialists are currently deployed to all major ADF Areas of Operation.

CIMIC ensure the Australian Army approach an operation with the greatest possible chance of success, and work holistically for international peace and security, in accordance with our international obligations and the Commander's intent.

The CIMIC element of the 1st Division is based in Brisbane and the 2nd Division currently has a SQN in Sydney that is still awaiting official unit establishment.

In a purely disaster relief operation, the military offers unmatched levels of mobility, skilled manpower trained to work in extremely arduous conditions with little notice.

Such skills amount to a wealth of resources.

The impact that a disaster has on a population is affected by the level of risk reduction mechanisms in place within a community.

In a conflict zone, the infrastructure and community resources that can be used to recover from a disaster are greatly depleted.

In addition to effectively engaging the enemy, successful urban operations require friendly forces to shape the strategic environment, local population and physical environment; and carry out an effective transition to civilian control.

This requires a clear understanding of the conflict, the enemy, the battlefield, the local population and their culture; as contemporary insurgencies flow from systemic failures in political, economic and social realms.

For a successful counterinsurgency operation, there must be a simultaneous reduction in the causes of frustration that swell the ranks of insurgent or terrorist groups, and a successful engagement of the enemy.

LT COL John Blaxland from the Land Warfare Studies Centre in a recent paper describes the best approach to counterinsurgency as one, "that is culturally attuned, responsive to local nuances that motivate insurgents and terrorists, and designed to generate lasting effects." CIMIC is crucial in achieving this.

Insurgency "provides a source of identity and empowerment for those members with few sources for such things.

Without a gun, most insurgent soldiers are simply poor, uneducated, disempowered people with no prospects and little hope."*

Development organisations work to address issues of poverty, education and empowerment.

Community groups and NGOs often have an understanding of these social, political, economic and cross cutting grievances.

CIMIC personnel are uniquely qualified to liaise with these organisations and provide advice to Commanders on the ground.

Only through effective liaison between all actors in the AO can the peace as well as the war be won.

Working together better

Effective liaison between the military and the civil population is necessary for a successful peace operation.

History is littered with examples of peacekeeping operations that have been unsuccessful because there has been no peace to keep, or unaddressed tensions run so high that eventually one side breaks the peace.

In peacekeeping operations, ADF troops protect and defend nation builders who will be either rebuilding a nation after the devastation of conflict, or building a new independent nation.

Nation building is a transitional process primarily carried out by civilian groups, both governmental and non governmental.

Groups involved in nation building may include new and old political leaders, human rights organisations, peace and justice groups, organisations working for refugee repatriation, social service and welfare providers as well as freedom fighters.

In post conflict societies, all civilians play a role in the rebuilding a democratic nation, because each individual plays a role in the greater community, whether they be a mother, school teacher, justice worker or politician.

An ADF peacekeeping mission will not be successful if the peacekeeping force cannot learn from these parties, understand their concerns and address or appropriately redirect them.

The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine proposed that when a population is suffering serious harm and their government is unable or unwilling to avert the situation, the international responsibility to protect overrides the legal principle of non intervention.

The legitimacy of such an intervention is conditional on the right intentions; it must be a last resort; must be proportional; and have a reasonable chance of success.

Intervention entails three responsibilities.

The responsibility to prevent, react and rebuild.

Oxfam Australia has requested that all Australian Peacekeeping Operations should be framed by the principles of R2P because they provide a ‘humane and practical policy framework... and...take into account non-security and post-conflict aspects of the mission which are critical in complex conflict environments.'

R2P requires that the international community is asked to intervene in a conflict by the UN Security Council.

This was the case for the NATO intervention in Kosovo.

If the international community is not asked to intervene by the UN Security Council, but does so anyway, as occurred in Iraq, there is no quietus on the responsibilities to the civilian population.

Furthermore, the responsibility to ‘maintain peace and security' is articulated in the UN Charter; the responsibility to protect non-combatants from conflict is enshrined in the Geneva Conventions; and the Fourth Geneva Convention states that an invading army has the responsibility to restore basic services prior to withdrawal, rebuild damaged infrastructure and a has number of other responsibilities to the civilian population ‘under occupation'.

Who does what?

However, in all civil-military tasks, there must be a clear division of military and civilian roles and responsibilities. Shared or common goals between actors in an AO must be identified, and mutually exclusive or different goals must be acknowledged and respected.

These must be made clear to all parties and the civilian population at large.

The differences between civilian organisations and the ADF do not intrinsically prevent them supporting each other and offering mutual guidance on specific and general points of interest.

The military offers a source of skills, personnel and equipment that are at the ready to operate in arduous, often extreme and insecure conditions.

However, various agencies who are already equipped to work in conflict or disaster situations have established codes of conduct that differ from the general practice of the ADF.

The driving values behind CIMIC can and should reflect a holistic approach to security, including conflict resolution and peace building, which would be of overall benefit to the mission.

CIMIC activities can and should be able to commit to incorporating disaster risk reduction into planning and aim to reduce vulnerabilities as well as addressing basic needs.

With the convergence of civil and military tasks, the boundaries of the humanitarian and military roles have been blurred.

ADF deployments and CIMIC activities are dependant on the changing priorities of the Commander and Australian government policy.

While peacekeeping operations often require the military to take a neutral stance, this does not mean that they are acting in a humanitarian nature.

The government and the Commander's priorities will vary before, during, and after a mission, whereas a humanitarian one would not.

Many NGOs have stated that the preservation of the ‘humanitarian space' is vital.

In Afghanistan, the actions of troops and Commanders', and the statements of policy makers have led insurgents to link NGOs to military operations.

This has proven to damage the perceived and actual neutrality and independence of humanitarian and development workers and greatly impinged on their safety.

While there is an increasing overlap of civil and military tasks, it is still important that each is clearly identified and their role is known to the public.

If defence members engage in projects in support of the civil community it is vital that they do so in uniform so they can be clearly identified.

Should conflict erupt it would be increasingly difficult for humanitarian workers to negotiate access across military lines to those in need, as is their role.

According to the Inter Agency Standing Committee on Humanitarian Affairs, "It is important to maintain a clear separation between the roles of the military and humanitarian actors, by distinguishing their respective spheres of competence and responsibility ... .

"The need for the humanitarians to maintain an actual and perceived distance from the military is especially important with regard to belligerent forces or representatives of an occupying power."

Finding a balance

These issues may mean that some NGOs are not willing to cooperate with the military.

However if all efforts are made to address their concerns, there is no reason that many NGOs will not be prepared to work collaboratively and communicate with the ADF.

The Asia Pacific Civil-Military Centre of Excellence will have a role in enhancing the relationship between the ADF and NGOs.

The principle of neutrality of the Red Cross, superficially appears to exclude working with the military.

However, the Red Cross will and does work alongside defence forces from around the world while maintaining their integrity and code of conduct.

Civil Military Operations Centres are established outside established military compounds so that any members from the civilian community or NGO representatives do not enter a military compound.

Furthermore, CIMIC training incorporates work with various NGOs and International Organisations including UNHCR, the Red Cross, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and Oxfam, as well as training in codes of conduct for humanitarian assistance.

In 2004, then UN Secretary General Kofi Anan poignantly expressed that ‘development and security are inextricably linked'.

In the current operational environment, CIMIC is necessary for the successful completion of ADF disaster relief, peacekeeping, urban warfare, and counterinsurgency.

CIMIC activities are carried out in accordance with Commander's intent, fulfilling the obligation to rebuild under the Geneva Conventions, and the Responsibility to Protect doctrine; and the responsibility to maintain peace and security under the United Nations Charter.

The establishment of the Asia Pacific Civil-Military Centre of Excellence reflects this.

* METZ, S.; ‘New Challenges and Old Concepts- Understanding 21st Century Insurgency' in Australian Army Journal, Volume V, Number 2, Winter 2008.

Susan Hutchinson is a reserve soldier and graduate of RMIT University, holding a BA in International Studies and is now studying for an MA in International and Community Development through Deakin University. She is currently posted to 21 Construction Regiment in Holsworthy.

The views expressed here are her own.