November 28, 2003
Save the Children UK places a high value on our independence and would never accept money from any donor, corporation, government or other source if it came with conditions that would limit or control our work. We fully intend to continue to speak out for the rights of children without fear or favour. The Guardian is simply wrong to suggest that Save the Children UK was "silenced" in its advocacy on Iraq or somehow "toned down" its criticism of the Coalition as a result of outside pressure ("How British Charity was silenced on Iraq", The Guardian 28 November 2003). None of the core concerns in any of our news releases about Iraq were changed as a result of feedback received from our sister agency Save the Children US, as suggested in The Guardian article. All our releases regarding Iraq remain on our web site as a permanent record of the concerns we expressed at the time. We have since issued further public statements critical of the Coalition including:
• criticism of the coalition's approach to education in Iraq (6 October 2003, letters, Financial Times),
• a warning that the 'top down' approach being taken to rebuilding Iraq would lead to expensive failures (Save the Children news release, 22 October 2003),
• interviews for the BBC World Service, BBC Radio 4 Today and CNN International in the aftermath of the attack on the Red Cross in Baghdad in which Save the Children criticised the Coalition for blurring the distinction between military and humanitarian action, and failing to provide a secure environment for ordinary Iraqis.The Guardian were provided with a point by point rebuttal of their central allegations before publication but included only a few short sentences from the statement and this towards the end of a long article. The Guardian's second allegation - that Save the Children has limited its expressions of concern about the impact on children of private sector delivery of services - is also simply wrong. The allegation is completely inconsistent with our ongoing public campaign to force the World Bank and the IMF to stop promoting privatisation to developing countries as a standard policy prescription. Save the Children UK places a high value on our independence and would never accept money from any donor, corporation, government or other source if it came with conditions that would limit or control our work. We fully intend to continue to speak out for the rights of children without fear or favour.
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