Security
ICRC @ 76th urge global leaders to apply Geneva treaties to tackle casualties in armed conflicts
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ICRC @ 76th urge global leaders to apply Geneva treaties to tackle casualties in armed conflicts.
From Umar Dankano, Yola.
The International Committee of the Red Cross,ICRC has observed with dismay the flagrant abuse of the international humanitarian law(IHL) by countries involved in armed conflicts.
ICRC President, Mirjiana Spoljaric made the observation in a statement issued on Tuesday as the organization marks 76th anniversary of the four Geneva conventions of 1949 warning that global commitment to the Geneva conventions is weakening endangering civilians at risk due to armed conflicts.
Spoljaric regretted that the willingness to uphold the rules of war as enshrined in the signed treaties is fast diminishing with catastrophic consequences for people trapped in armed conflict.
Spoljaric said that, the world made a solemn promise through the Geneva Conventions that even in war, there are limits noting that today, that promise is under serious threat as these rules were not created to serve the powerful.
She maintained that the Geneva conventions were made to protect the powerless: the civilian caught in the crossfire, the wounded on the battlefield, the prisoners behind bars.
Spoljaric described respect for the rules of war as “non-optional,” noting that the Geneva Conventions are among the most widely accepted international treaties. When respected, she said, they can prevent brutality in war and preserve pathways to peace.
According to her in the statement, Last September, the ICRC, alongside Brazil, China, France, Jordan, Kazakhstan and South Africa, launched a global initiative to renew political will for international humanitarian law. More than 70 states have since joined us in this effort. I urge all states to do the same.
“The protective power of IHL is only as strong as leaders’ political will to uphold it. The next 76 years of the Geneva Conventions will be defined by the choices they make today to preserve – or abandon – humanity in war”. The statement declared.
