The chief executive of charity ShelterBox has warned that the execution of aid worker David Haines at the weekend will make the “whole third sector” measure its risks more cautiously.
In a statement Alison Wallace (pictured), ShelterBox’s chief executive, spoke of the “chilling news” of the murder of Haines, who worked for Paris-based non-governmental organisation the Agency for Technical Co-operation and Development (Acted), which frequently partners with ShelterBox to help deliver its aid around the world.
David Haines, a father-of-two, had been seized in Syria in March 2013 and was being held by Islamic State militants. A video of his beheading was released on Saturday evening and has since been verified by the Foreign Office.
Wallace said that her heart goes out to the family and friends of Haines, while stating that the charity sector will need to measure its risks more carefully.
She said: “David Haines’s death is bound to make the whole third sector measure every risk, and every single humanitarian footstep, more cautiously.”
She also said that her charity will be increasing its efforts to make sure that anyone delivering aid on its behalf is kept safe.
She said: “No-one who wears the ShelterBox badge is ever knowingly put in harm’s way, and there is a great reliance on teamwork and communications to maximise individual safety.
“If indiscriminate hostage-taking is now casting a wider net, from journalists to aid workers, we will redouble our efforts to keep our people safe.”
Wallace also said that although ShelterBox has no response teams currently in Iraq or Syria, its aid programme does continue via local partner organisations. She added that there is little doubt that they "will need to send teams into these areas again, and probably to other conflict zones such as Ukraine or Gaza".
A second aid worker held hostage by Islamic State militants has also been threatened with the same fate. Alan Henning, a father-of-two from Salford, had been a volunteer on an aid convoy in Syria before he was captured.
