«Remember Solferino. And act!»
Bern, 24.06.2013 - 24.06.13 - Speech by Federal Councillor Didier Burhalter, UNIGE, Uni Mail in Geneva - Check against delivery
Mr President,
Monsieur le Conseiller d’Etat,
Mr Vice-Rector,
Excellencies,
Dear students,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Solferino. Why should we commemorate a battle that took place more than 150 years ago? Why remember a day that opposed the armies of the Emperor of the French and the Emperor of Austria? And that took place so far in the past…
The battle of Solferino is not just another forgotten event from the dawn of modern European history. It is a symbol of the suffering caused by war – by all wars.
Solferino has become synonymous with the absurd violence of war, operating as a killing machine crushing human beings and the dignity of man. Solferino is a battle we remember only for the screams, the tears and the losers.
Unfortunately if we look at today’s world, we must admit that Solferino is not just a battle from the 19th century. Solferino is taking place today!
Today, the conflict in Syria drags on, becoming intractable and growing worse by the day. Its victims – wounded, killed and mutilated – number in the hundreds of thousands. According to the UN, this civil war has claimed more than 93,000 lives. At least 6,000 of those are children; most of the victims are civilians.
To this toll we must add millions of displaced persons and people in need of humanitarian assistance. Warfare today spares no one, military or civilian, man or woman, adult or child.
Solferino was a battle fought between regular armies. A fact which detracts nothing from its brutality. But wars that claim the lives of mothers and children cross a new threshold of inhumanity.
Today’s warfare does not restrict itself to limited terrain where Generals line their troops up in battle order. War now takes many forms. The fighting extends to public places, to streets; marketplaces become battlefields. Schools, which should be sanctuaries for the innocent, holding out the promise of the future, now find themselves in the front line. Even hospitals are targeted by the killers.
The threat to children, to women and to civilians in general is great, far greater than it was at the time of Solferino. In today’s world, civilian populations are the main victim of armed conflict. This poses an important challenge to international humanitarian law, that instrument born of humanity’s attempt to atone for the horrors of Solferino.
As we can see, there is no less need today for humanitarian action than there was 150 years ago. Quite to the contrary!
The extent of human suffering makes it necessary to continue the initiative of Henry Dunant, notably through the work of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
It is for this reason that we are here today to commemorate the battle of Solferino with its 40,000 victims. Switzerland wishes to remember it in order to act.
To remember is to recall that the battle which began in the aftermath of Solferino, that battle to preserve human dignity in the midst of the ruins left by armed conflict, is far from won.
Taking action means providing relief to the victims of the conflicts of today, and trying to create greater awareness, understanding and respect for international humanitarian law.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, represented here today by its President, celebrates this year its 150 years of existence. The creation of the ICRC is a direct consequence of the trauma felt by Dunant in Castiglione, near Solferino, and which he describes in his book “A Memory of Solferino”, published in 1862. Yet in its 150th year, the ICRC is younger than ever, each day bringing further proof of its relevance and usefulness, even in a world that has changed so enormously since 1859.
Each and every day, the ICRC provides us with new proof of its determination and that of the men and women who keep it alive – proof of its effectiveness and the great need for its services in a multitude of difficult contexts across the globe.
ICRC delegates take great risks in their efforts to bring relief to the victims of war, thus perpetuating the spirit and values born in this city. Values expressed by the people of Geneva who in 1859, moved by the letters of Dunant, decided to send a relief mission to Castiglione, and again in 1863 with the creation of the precursor of the ICRC, the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded.
Today the ICRC offers us the noblest portrait of humanity, one the world recognises as such. What other organisation has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize three times over?
Switzerland has enjoyed a privileged relationship with the ICRC since its creation. This relationship is not based solely on geography or the fact that Geneva has become the heart of “International Switzerland” and a useful location for planning the world of tomorrow. Nor is it based on the complementary nature of our emblems. Above all, this cooperation has been built and still rests on shared values. The most solid foundation possible.
Switzerland and the ICRC defend the same principles: our aim is to protect all victims of armed conflict without distinction, and to do everything in our power to ensure respect for international humanitarian law.
In order to celebrate these key principles, the ICRC and the Swiss government join together this year to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of the ICRC, and just one year later of the First Geneva Convention.
Yet what is important is not the age of the organisation. Nor is it the anniversaries, the numbers. What counts is the unrelenting efforts of the ICRC, today and tomorrow, to improve the protection provided to the victims of war, and to increase respect for international humanitarian law. Switzerland would like to thank the ICRC on this symbolic occasion for its unflagging commitment and to invite it to continue its efforts, which are nothing less than essential.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Switzerland feels it has a special responsibility – for what the ICRC represents, the fact that it has its base here, and for the values Switzerland defends. Both in its foreign policy and in its Constitution, which stipulates that we have a duty to alleviate the sufferings of people in need. Humanitarian aid is a central plank of Switzerland’s foreign policy strategy.
Furthermore Switzerland has a special responsibility as the depositary state of the Geneva Conventions and their additional Protocols, documents fundamental to international humanitarian law.
In a rapidly changing world, in which the balance of power is constantly moving, Switzerland intends to pursue a foreign policy based on the principles of “neutrality, responsibility and solidarity”.
That is why Switzerland is working both to promote and reinforce international humanitarian law and to enhance compliance with it.
That is also why the Parliament approved last year a substantial increase in the funds allocated for humanitarian aid and international cooperation. Ranked 10th in the world today, as of 2015 Switzerland will allocate 0.5% of its gross national income for international aid. That is an equivalent of one Swiss franc per capita per day.
The government’s close partnership with the ICRC above all takes the form of financial support. In the past two decades the ICRC has received one third of the total Swiss budget for humanitarian aid, making Switzerland the second highest contributor.
In this way, Switzerland helps with the implementation of numerous ICRC activities:
- Protection of civilians in armed conflicts
- Assisting victims
- Dialogue with armed forces and non-state armed groups
- And the strengthening of international humanitarian law
to name but the most significant.
Ladies and gentlemen,
All States have a humanitarian responsibility. A responsibility to our shared humanity, which never suffers more than in situations of conflict.
Switzerland is committed to the idea that humanitarian aid must be provided to all victims of war, regardless of their place of birth, their ethnic identity or their social status. Humanitarian aid must be entirely independent and free of all political considerations.
Switzerland is active in four strategic areas of humanitarian aid, bilaterally with the State concerned, and multilaterally in coordination with many other actors.
The first area is prevention. Our aim is to forestall humanitarian crises before they happen, and when that is not possible, to reduce the consequences to a minimum. To help us accomplish this we have identified specific tasks. These include support for local prevention mechanisms in areas of high risk, the creation of early warning systems, monitoring areas of high risk, strengthening civilian capacities for the autonomous management of such risks, and improving the international coordination of relief efforts. In Armenia, for instance, Switzerland helps to strengthen a decentralised rescue system.
The second essential area of our humanitarian effort is that of emergency relief. This is what people generally think humanitarian aid is all about – trucks bringing food supplies, tents and medical staff to aid the victims, and the enormous camps to which thousands of refugees flock in the hope of finding some semblance of the humanity that has been taken from them.
In concrete terms emergency relief means rapid, planned intervention designed to meet the fundamental needs of the victims of conflict. Switzerland has been doing this in most theatres of war or natural catastrophe around the globe – from Somalia to Haiti and Pakistan.
The third area is reconstruction. A humanitarian crisis changes people’s lives, shatters their dreams and diminishes their opportunities. It separates families, destroys infrastructure and the environment, and overwhelms institutions. Survivors face the difficult task of starting a new life with the little they still possess. Switzerland therefore feels that its humanitarian aid must continue long after the conflict has ended and the media cameras have moved on. In Pakistan, for instance, Swiss humanitarian aid has focused on rebuilding healthcare centres after the flooding devastated the country in 2010.
The final area is advocacy. Some crises attract more attention with the international community than others. Above all we must avoid ranking arbitrarily the sufferings of victims. Switzerland takes care to act on behalf of the “forgotten” victims of faraway conflicts that no longer appear on our TV screens, such as the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or in the Central African Republic.
Remember Solferino and act – to prevent, aid, rebuild and advocate.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Solferinos of our days no longer resemble those of the 19th century nor indeed of the 20th century, and those of tomorrow will also be different. We live in a rapidly changing world. Technology and science are making great strides, but some of the advances have their drawbacks.
Since the nature of conflicts also changes, the mechanisms of humanitarian intervention at times reach their limitations. We therefore need to innovate, and to create a system of humanitarian action adapted to the realities of today.
I therefore greatly welcome today’s discussion of the challenges facing humanitarian action. And I am especially pleased that the audience and participants includes a new generation. For indeed, dear students, tomorrow’s world is yours. And its quality will, to some extent, depend on the solutions we find in our efforts to modernise humanitarian assistance.
I would like to launch the discussion by evoking two of the main challenges facing humanitarian action.
1. The first concerns the safety of humanitarian personnel in armed conflicts. In the past 10 years or so, there has been a considerable increase in attacks of all kinds against humanitarian actors. Recently ICRC staff have been attacked in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Such attacks make it impossible to obtain suitable access to victims and in certain contexts hamper efforts and make them extremely difficult.
Sadly the case of Syria is a glaring example of this trend. It is with this in mind that Switzerland asked the Syrian government to authorise cross-border humanitarian operations coordinated by the United Nations and the ICRC, with the consent of neighbouring countries.
There are many causes for this marked deterioration in safety. There is the changing nature of the conflicts themselves, involving an ever greater number of participants and a growing complexity in the field.
Furthermore, since the end of the Cold War there has been a proliferation of humanitarian actors operating in sensitive contexts and close to combat zones. The fact that these contexts are often complex encourages attacks on humanitarian actors for reasons that are both political and economic.
It is also true that some States combine military operations with humanitarian aid. This undermines the credibility of humanitarian missions, which by their very nature must be independent to be accepted. Neutrality is a sine qua non to avoid jeopardising the safety of humanitarian staff.
It is becoming increasingly difficult therefore to continue to act on humanitarian principles in safety. And while international humanitarian law provides legal protection (some attacks may even qualify as war crimes), the impunity that is common to most of these contexts often reduces the effectiveness of this protection.
There is an urgent need to find a meaningful solution to this problem. At stake is the safety of humanitarian actors and ultimately the very future of humanitarian efforts.
Switzerland has taken action on a political, a legal and an operational level to increase the safety of humanitarian personnel. We are developing a strategy for strengthening the protection of civilians in armed conflicts. We are working to increase public awareness of the importance of ensuring safe conditions for humanitarian actors. At present we are also elaborating a Handbook and a Field Manual, both designed to provide information and practical advice regarding humanitarian access and the safety of personnel on the ground.
2. The second major challenge I would like to discuss is that of respect for international humanitarian law. This is a matter of fundamental importance, as it concerns both the protection of victims of conflicts and the credibility of international humanitarian law.
Humanitarian law provides an appropriate general legal framework for regulating the behaviour of the parties to an armed conflict, even in a changed context. But respect for these legal norms in conflicts is too often deficient.
In July of 2012, Switzerland and the ICRC organised a first meeting to strengthen dialogue between the States on these questions. Indeed the mechanisms intended to ensure respect for international humanitarian law established by the Geneva Conventions have so far shown themselves to be inadequate.
The States have concluded that one of the reasons these mechanisms do not function is the absence of an institutional framework. The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols are the only international treaties governing the protection of persons that do not make it possible for the States to meet on a regular basis.
It is with this in mind that Switzerland and the ICRC organised last week a second meeting here in Geneva.
The participating States have become aware that time has come to define specific means to ensure respect for international humanitarian law. That they wish to decide on these means through increased dialogue is indeed gratifying. Switzerland and the ICRC will now develop concrete options that will be discussed with the participating States during the coming year.
Ladies and gentlemen,
These two challenges – the safety of humanitarian actors and respect for international humanitarian law – show just how complex the task before us is. But there is no reason for us to despair, any more than there was for Henry Dunant.
Solferino is not only the symbol of war’s inhumanity, it is also the symbol of action. Action of a man who looked into the eyes of wounded soldiers and rebelled. Action of a man who volunteered his services in a field hospital the day after the battle of Solferino. Action of a man who wanted to do something to alleviate suffering and take action against the worst excesses of war. Action of a man who was ready to move mountains to improve the fate of mankind.
Today is an important day, for in confronting the task before us we too must remember Solferino, and take action!
I thank you for your attention and wish you all a very interesting discussion.
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