– Humanitarian aid is non-negotiable
Humanitarian needs around the world have never been greater. But providing help where it is needed is not always easy.
Thomas Zeltner – President of the Swiss Red Cross
Posted today at 6:43 a.m.
If humanitarian action has no influence on politics or can prevent wars, its actors engage, often in extremely difficult conditions, alongside vulnerable people to defend their dignity and provide them with protection, clean water, medicine. vitals and food.
Never before have global humanitarian needs been so great. In 2023 alone, more than 360 million people around the world were dependent on humanitarian assistance. Persecutions, armed conflicts, violence and human rights violations have forced some 110 million people to leave their countries. We are witnessing new wars, such as in Ukraine, and a destructive escalation of violence in the Middle East. And nothing suggests an imminent end to the persistent crises and armed conflicts which are raging in particular in Ethiopia, Sudan, Yemen, Haiti, Myanmar or the Democratic Republic of Congo. The resulting distress is immeasurable.
It is not uncommon that in trying to access vulnerable people to provide them with the help they urgently need, workers pay a high price. In areas affected by war or crisis, the conditions in which organizations such as the Red Cross and Red Crescent work are unbearable and often dangerous, particularly when parties to the conflict ignore their responsibilities and stall. the rules of international humanitarian law.
160 years ago…
On May 8, World Red Cross Day, we pay tribute to Henry Dunant, the originator of the ideal of the Red Cross and in particular the initiative of the diplomatic conference which saw the signing of the first Geneva Convention 160 years ago. Ratified by 196 States, the four Geneva Conventions in force today are the expression of a universal commitment to the service of humanity. They form the keystone of international humanitarian law, under which all parties to the conflict are required, even in the heat of war, to ensure the conditions necessary to respect the right to access to relief and to dignity. Humanitarian aid always depends on the extent of the distress and must under no circumstances be subject to manipulation and abuse or become the plaything of political or military circles.
The restoration of lasting peace and security necessarily requires viable political solutions. For as long as it takes, the Red Cross and Red Crescent will work with partners around the world to ensure that everyone in distress, wherever they are, can receive the support they need – because humanity and humanitarian aid are non-negotiable.
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