YouSaid · the spoken record

Spoerri

lines on the record
65
first
2011-11-09
most recent
2018-08-08
sittings or episodes
6
sources
un-security-council

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  1. “The ICRC and some 50 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies subsequently raised this issue at the thirty-first International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, held in Geneva in November and December of last year. That Conference saw the adoption of a far-reaching resolution entitled "Health Care in Danger", demanding an effective response from States, national societies and the health-care community at large. The resolution called upon the ICRC to initiate consultations with all major stakeholders in order to identify and agree upon concrete measures for making the delivery of health care safer in armed conflicts and other emergencies worldwide.”

    2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790 (2012) · source

  2. “In Afghanistan, wounded people may languish for hours in vehicles held up at checkpoints. In sum, blatant disrespect for the neutral status of health facilities, transport and personnel is all too common. In response to that reality on the ground, the ICRC has documented and analyzed hundreds of violent incidents affecting health care in 16 countries where it operates, over a two-and-a-half year period. The results of the study, published at the end of last year, show that, while the number of recorded incidents is striking, they represent only the tip of the iceberg. A single violent incident against health-care infrastructure or workers can have immeasurable longer-term repercussions on entire communities with war-related or chronic health problems.”

    2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790 (2012) · source

  3. “The terrible human suffering caused by those issues can and must be reduced. Violence against health-care workers, facilities and beneficiaries is one of the most serious yet neglected humanitarian concerns today, as the Secretary-General mentioned in his opening speech. It impedes access to and the delivery of health care in many countries. I will mention just a few examples. In Pakistan, the kidnapping and murder of an ICRC health manager earlier this year has deprived thousands of wounded patients of adequate treatment. In Somalia, hospitals have been shelled. In Libya and Syria, ambulances have been shot at. Just yesterday, in Syria, a first-aid volunteer of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent was shot and killed. That is the fourth time since last September that a member of the Red Crescent was killed while on duty.”

    2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790 (2012) · source

  4. “Mr. Spoerri: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is honoured to brief the Security Council once again and wishes to thank China, as President, for the invitation. We commend the Secretary-General for his latest report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict (S/2012/376), which highlights several issues of great concern to the ICRC. I will limit my remarks to three of them. The first fundamental concern is threats affecting the security and delivery of health care, the second is the availability and use of arms and the third is the failure to comply with international humanitarian law. The need to improve respect for international humanitarian law and to ensure accountability for violations lies at the heart of all of those issues, which continuously confront the ICRC in its daily operational work around the world.”

    2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790 (2012) · source

  5. “But other actors - including non-State armed groups, which are also bound by international humanitarian law, military forces and humanitarian organizations - also have important roles to play. Indeed, all of us here today must help to ensure, in our different ways, that normative achievements are felt where they matter, not in the debating chamber, but on the ground, so that they make a real difference for people in the midst of war or other situations of violence.”

    2011-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6650 (2011) · source

  6. “It is generally not possible to know how much suffering has been prevented in any given armed conflict or how many more abuses might have been committed without the efforts of all the various protection actors. Yet the difficulty of measuring success should never serve as an excuse or obviate the need for accountability. When protection fails, we have all witnessed the terrible consequences * for health-care workers, migrants and the countless women, men and children suffering in the face of conflict. Ultimate responsibility for the protection of civilians clearly lies with States, both on their own territory and in their military operations in other contexts. Little can be achieved without the requisite political will.”

    2011-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6650 (2011) · source

  7. “Likewise, in protracted armed conflicts - Afghanistan is just one example - the perception of the ICRC's work as impartial, neutral and independent has been absolutely crucial to achieving dialogue with parties on all sides of the conflict, and thus to obtaining humanitarian access to those in need. In this regard, all measures that effectively hamper contact by humanitarian agencies with organized non-State armed groups are a cause for concern. Under international humanitarian law, the ICRC must be allowed to offer its services to any party to an armed conflict. The success of protection, which is ultimately manifested in the prevention of abuses occurring in the first place, is notoriously hard to measure.”

    2011-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6650 (2011) · source

  8. “At the same time, the ICRC respects the sovereignty of States and contributes to national capacity-building, for example by supporting authorities in incorporating international humanitarian law into national legislation and into army training manuals, by advising on rules of engagement in order to limit risks for civilian populations and prevent abuses, or by helping existing structures to continue functioning. In so doing, the ICRC contributes to strengthening accountability for violations. In recent crises, such as those in Cote d'Ivoire, Libya and Yemen, the ICRC has managed to gain and maintain access to people affected by adhering strictly to this approach.”

    2011-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6650 (2011) · source

  9. “For the ICRC, a meaningful response essentially requires an approach that is needs-based, has proximity to the beneficiaries, and entails engagement with all stakeholders, thereby gaining the widest possible acceptance and respect, and thus the widest possible humanitarian access. This approach also helps to ensure the safety of our staff. Protection, for us, goes together with assistance, and one may facilitate the other. Crucially, if the ICRC's approach is to be effective and credible, it must remain consistently distinct from any kind of political process or decision, be they peace processes, political negotiations, Security Council mandates, the human rights agendas of various organizations, military or peace operations, or judicial investigations and prosecutions.”

    2011-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6650 (2011) · source

  10. “Indeed, the Secretary-General included these issues in the five core challenges first set out in his 2009 report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict (S/2009/277). Working to ensure respect for international humanitarian law is at the heart of the ICRC's mandate and mission. That is reflected in our impartial, neutral and independent approach. Of course, principled humanitarian action is nothing more than an empty mantra unless it is translated into a meaningful response on the ground, and the many different actors involved in protection work have many different approaches.”

    2011-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6650 (2011) · source

  11. “This situation has further highlighted the need for strict interpretation and rigorous application of such key notions as distinction, military objectives, the principle of proportionality and precaution. The overarching challenge presented by these issues is to achieve consistent respect for international humanitarian law by States and non-State actors in international and domestic armed conflicts, irrespective of the reasons for going to war. Coupled with this is the need to enhance accountability for violations of international humanitarian law both by parties to conflict and by individual perpetrators, be it at the national level or by referral to the International Criminal Court.”

    2011-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6650 (2011) · source

  12. “Secondly, the so-called Arab Spring has also helped to highlight the extreme vulnerability of migrants living in or crossing through countries affected by armed violence. These migrants are extremely vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by all sides to a conflict, ranging from illegal confiscation of their belongings to sexual exploitation or even torture. In some cases, they are made the scapegoat for causing or exacerbating the conflict. Thirdly, events over the past year have underscored concerns related to the conduct of hostilities, particularly in urban settings. Military operations conducted in densely populated urban areas, often using heavy or highly explosive weapons, have had devastating humanitarian consequences for civilian populations.”

    2011-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6650 (2011) · source

  13. “In many cases, health workers are harassed or threatened by fighters sometimes seeking to obstruct treatment for their wounded enemies or demanding supplies. Ambulances are deliberately blocked from accessing wounded people or held up for hours at checkpoints. Each incident effectively denies the right of wounded and sick people to health care. Yet, beyond the direct impact of attacks on medical infrastructure or workers, there are immeasurable longer-term repercussions on entire communities with war-related or chronic health problems. The ICRC is so concerned by the far-reaching and profound humanitarian consequences of threats to the provision of health care in armed conflicts and other situations of violence that it recently launched a multi-year project and communication campaign on the issue.”

    2011-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6650 (2011) · source

  14. “Hundreds of thousands of women, men and children bear the brunt of conflicts that are in many cases protracted and increasingly complex in both their causes and consequences. Since the ICRC briefed the Council one year ago, we have noted a number of ongoing and emerging concerns related to the protection of civilians that confront us in our daily work in armed conflicts and other situations of violence around the world. I will mention three of them here. First, events in North Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere have confirmed that violence against health- care facilities and personnel is one of the most serious yet neglected humanitarian issues of the day. In some cases, ambulances or hospitals are directly targeted, killing or wounding medical staff and patients.”

    2011-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6650 (2011) · source

  15. “Mr. Spoerri: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is honoured to brief the Security Council once again on this very important subject and would like to thank Portugal, as President of the Council, for the invitation. Among the many different views that may be expressed here today by the various actors concerned with the protection of civilians in armed conflict, there is surely at least one common theme, which is that the reality on the ground has not kept pace with the considerable normative progress achieved in recent years. The undeniable reality is that civilians continue to be the main victims of armed conflict, due to indiscriminate attacks or targeted violence.”

    2011-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6650 (2011) · source