Address
by
International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Geneva
on
the occasion of the
55th
session of the General Assembly
Mr President,
Mr. Secretary‑General,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
On behalf of the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC), I thank you for the opportunity to address the Millennium Assembly of
the United Nations.
With a staff of almost 12,000 persons, the ICRC is active in
practically all armed conflicts and most situations of internal strife which
could degenerate into an armed conflict. Its task is to protect and assist the
victims.
From such a vantage point, the ICRC unfortunately witnesses
disturbing trends in a growing number of conflicts:
- The number of helpless civilian victims, mainly women and
children, is steadily increasing. The civilian population has become the very
target in many conflicts. To meet the particular needs of women and girls for
protection and assistance will be a priority for the
1CRC in coming
years. I note with satisfaction that the protection of the vulnerable has been
given an important place in the Millennium Declaration;
- International humanitarian law is regularly flouted In an
environment with an increasing number of identity-related and destructured
conflicts in eroding State structures. In addition, new perpetrators of
violence emerge, sometimes difficult to identify and to get in touch with;
‑ Access to cheap and more sophisticated weaponry is
easy and further facilitated by today's communication networks. This
accessibility and the erosion of State power are the ingredients of many
conflict situations. I thank the Secretary‑General for having underlined,
in his report to the General Assembly, that the issue of the proliferation of
light weapons must be urgently addressed,
‑ There are correlations between extreme poverty and
violence. The eradication of extreme poverty clearly has a conflict‑prevention
dimension,
‑ The dangers inherent to humanitarian action, of
which we are sadly reminded this week by the assassination, in West Timor, of
colleagues of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR). What more must happen for more concrete action to be taken mi order to
better protect solidly motivated and courageous relief workers ?
‑ Lastly, humanitarian
activities with a growing number of actors in the field often suffer from a
lack
of coordination, imprecise mandates
and vague principles of action.
An extensive body of international law, in particular the
Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977, sets out
rules aimed at alleviating the suffering engendered by international and non‑intemational
armed conflicts. The High Contracting Parties have undertaken to respect and to
ensure respect for the Geneva Conventions in all circumstances. More
significant steps have to be taken in order to better ensure this respect. The
ICRC offers advice and technical expertise to governments. Together with its
partners of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the National
Societies and their Federation, the ICRC will pursue its dissemination of
international humanitarian law and do its utmost to ensure respect for it. It
also strives to assure that the rules of humanitarian law governing weapons are
updated to take into account the rapid development of new military technology.
The efforts of the United Nations in helping develop and promote international
humanitarian law, and in particular the steps taken to afford better protection
for civilians in armed conflicts are highly appreciated by the ICRC. Better
implementation of existing humanitarian law remains one of my main concerns. A
plan of action to improve implementation is part of the ICRC's institutional
priorities for next year.
Mr. President, Excellencies,
Today's ‑ and no doubt tomorrow's ‑ humanitarian
challenges cannot be met without a strong commitment to improved coordination
between humanitarian actors. The ICRC is committed to efficient coordination,
efficient meaning that it should amount to the better protection and assistance
of victims. This implies that each actor concentrates on his core competences
as practically exercised in the field. The
ICRC cooperates with UN‑led
coordination mechanisms. As such, it discusses humanitarian issues and shares
information, both in the field and by means of bilateral, high‑level
dialogue.
There is no contradiction between the ICRC's commitment to
coordination and the equally strong commitment to the independence of its
strictly humanitarian action, based on the principles of impartiality and
neutrality. The credibility of the ICRC as an independent and neutral
intermediary in situations of armed conflict, which seeks to obtain access to
all victims, certainly is in the interest of all ‑‑ the community
of States and, above all, the victims of armed conflict themselves,
Mr. President, Excellencies,
You can count, at the dawn of a new century, on ail ICRC
willing to fulfill its humanitarian tasks through concrete action in the field
wherever there are needs for protection and assistance.
My strong hope ‑‑ more, my expectation ‑‑
is that the community of States will invest more into the prevention of armed
conflicts and, should a conflict erupt despite all efforts, make it clear to
all parties involved that they are expected to respect the rules of
international humanitarian law.
The strong, political support given to the United Nations by
the Millennium Summit is also encouraging for the ICRC, because it means
support for policies aimed at a better protection for the most vulnerable in
this world.
Thank you
for your attention.