On Friday, June 14 2024, the HALO Trust, a British humanitarian NGO focused on the removal of landmines, hosted an event at the National Army Museum in Chelsea.

Major General James Cowan, CEO of the HALO, lead a conversation on HALO’s mission in the context of British international policy in the face of broadening conflict in the 21st century. Major General Cowan reflected on his military career, including deployments across three continents over four decades, and the role humanitarian assistance should play to advance Britain’s international policies as well as to improve local lives.

As a general officer in the British Army, Major General Cowan’s responsibilities crossed between the political and military fields, especially in counterinsurgent conflicts. This was most evident in the “clear, hold, and build” strategic of Coalition operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, that sought to provide a security environment to enable state building, so that a democratic government with a productive economy could build popular support.

Development aid, humanitarian work, and social security

While these efforts met mixed success, this strategy demonstrates the importance of development aid, humanitarian work, and social security for defence policy objectives. Cowan stressed the role that humanitarian work, such as the HALO Trust’s international efforts to remove explosive ordinance, play in helping to build the security environment for Britain’s desired political outcomes.

Cowan connected these conclusions to Britain and the West’s support for Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia. Cowan noted that while military aid, various vehicles, weapons, and munitions, are of immediate need for Ukraine’s defense, the West’s support most go beyond mere materiel. Ukraine’s economy and exports have been seriously impacted by the invasion, its inflation rate is rising significantly, and it is spending a percentage GDP on defense that is not sustainable without foreign assistance.

Most importantly, Russia’s ongoing bombing and missile attacks have created a pressing humanitarian emergency. Russian attacks have used newer hypersonic weapon systems, kamikaze drones, and loitering munitions, in addition to conventional missiles and artillery shells. A significant amount of unexploded ordinance is spread across all of Ukraine, as not all munitions detonate as intended. The most heavily affected region is in the East of Ukraine, called the Donbas region. This area has been a battlefield since 2014 and featured lines of contact to this day, resulting in heavily fortifications and minefields several layers deep.

Discussing the military situation, Cowan argued that Russia has substituted “manpower for mine-power”, extensively using anti-personnel and anti-vehicle land mines to reinforce its positions in Ukraine. This heavy entrenchment in the Donbas is why control there has not changed significantly, and the 2022 Russian invasion mostly affected less defended regions. Following Russian advances in the South, a similar network of trenches and minefields were constructed. This contributed to the unsuccessful Ukrainian 2023 Counteroffensive, which was unable to pierce such heavy defences. This led Cowan to conclude, in his opinion, that containment of Russia was a realistic short-term outcome for the conflict until Russian power degrades for a change in the status quo.

Commentators elsewhere have suggested that frozen Russian state assets in the West could be used to fund Ukraine’s war effort and eventual post conflict rebuilding. This bears historical precedent from WWII, where the United provided immediate material aid under the Lend Lease Act, and later funded Europe’s post-war rebuilding through the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan, effectively humanitarian aid, was essential to winning the peace by rebuilding economically productive and thus stable democracies that would become the Western bloc. Ukraine will require similar developmental assistance, as its small domestic economy lacks the means to rebuild.

Cowan proposed that the situation in Ukraine demonstrates the need for defense policy and foreign development aid to operate in tandem to achieve British policy goals. Defense spending has refocused to Ukraine and European defense, which has limited resources for operations further abroad. This could be potentially made up for by humanitarian works in the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO). As the FCDO has a smaller footprint and budget than MoD operations, it can extend Britain’s presence through peacebuilding missions at a lower cost than military operations. The costs saved could be reinvested to further humanitarian missions, as well as enable Britian to meet its military goals including the recently proposed 2.5% GDP defense spending. Given the UK’s GDP has remained stagnant since 2007, such targeted financial policies can ultimately serve as a force multiplier for military operations.

HALO deminers are still needed

NGO’s such as the HALO Trust and other demining organisations have already played and continue to play an essential role in these efforts. Cowan mentioned how HALO deminers helped clear large areas of Afghanistan from ordnance. This enabled previously abandoned farmland to return to use, offering stable work and livelihoods to local communities.

HALO’s work in Afghanistan has continued despite the Taliban takeover in 2021 and expanded due to their government’s pragmatic approach to state building. While support for the Taliban remains controversial, the UK, US, and other Western states have recognized the role they play in combating the Islamic State in the region, called ISKP, which is deemed an international threat. HALO and similar NGOs are able to operate in areas where Western governments prefer to remain uninvolved yet can still advance Western policy goals.

Russia’s aggression has forced Britain, and other European states, to refocus their military power to continental Europe. Major General Cowan’s suggestions present a cost-effective option for Britain to maintain a global footprint, using the soft power of humanitarian aid outside of Europe while devoting cost-intensive defense spending to immediate threats in the Continent. Recognizing how humanitarian development can also advance state policy provides a pragmatic justification to funding these programs, which aim to create a more secure world.

Major General Cowan commented: “We are living in an omni crisis, with more conflicts raging across the globe now than at any time since World War Two. The next British government must recognise the links between conflict, climate change, famine and displacement and create a holistic approach to managing this cauldron of complex threats.”