00:00Madam President, thank you for accommodating us. Let me start by asking you, how was your
00:06meeting with President Bongbong-Marcos? We had a very good meeting, a very informed
00:13discussion, not only about the situation in the Philippines but across the globe. There
00:20are many situations of armed conflict that we are involved in and where we try to deliver
00:27humanitarian assistance. Why is it critical for states to prioritize IHL in
00:35today's global context, especially with conflicts in in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan?
00:41The ICSC was founded more than 160 years ago based on the reality in situations of war.
00:52International humanitarian law doesn't prevent war but it prevents senseless suffering. It's designed
01:01to protect civilians and those who don't take part in combat. They shouldn't be abused, killed, maimed,
01:09instrumentalized in the pursuit of military objectives. Now unfortunately these things happen
01:15but there are also containments possible. We see that international humanitarian law, what is written
01:24in the Geneva Conventions is regularly also respected because we've regularly succeed in repatriating
01:32civilians, wounded soldiers, we visit detainees, we work with governments to provide safe passage not only
01:40for repatriations but also for the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The problem is it's not
01:47happening consistently and states are not always complying. So this is a constant task for the ICSC to work
01:55with governments and all those who have an influence on the situation of war to make us able to provide
02:01assistance.
02:02What are the problems that you're encountering? Why is the compliance not consistent?
02:07It's particularly important today and in our time because we have seen an increase over the last
02:14decades in the number of armed conflicts but not only in the number of armed conflicts but also in the
02:20intensity with which these conflicts are being fought. This is supported on one hand by new technologies
02:28that amplify the force of weapons and their destructive force on civilian populations. You see high numbers of
02:35displacement in the Horn of Africa. You see the situation in Gaza.
02:42But there's another element that is very concerning for me as the president of the International Committee
02:49of the Red Cross and that is the dismissiveness with which international humanitarian law is being treated.
02:57Is the observation correct that it is the more powerful states that are violating the IHL?
03:03Yeah. It can be that more violent states or more powerful states commit more violations because
03:12they have the means. It's a possibility. But what is true first and foremost is that powerful states,
03:21regional and global powers, have more influence on parties to a conflict. And we ask them to exercise
03:30this influence in a manner it makes the parties return to the table and negotiate a political solution.
03:37Because a political solution is always the better one in comparison to a military approach.
03:44With harmful information and disinformation impacting humanitarian work,
03:48what strategies is the IHCRC employing to counter these challenges and maintain trust in your mission?
03:55And can you feel the effect of disinformation in today's world?
03:58The effect of disinformation cannot be underestimated or overestimated. It's such a powerful tool nowadays.
04:08It harms us as humanitarians. We are the subject of intense hate campaigns because we are neutral,
04:14because we are confidential and because it's easy to instrumentalize us with fake rumors.
04:23We see the impact of it. We receive threats. We are impeded in our movements. We are aggressed.
04:32Our delegates are really under a lot of strain because of it. But it also leads to, you know,
04:40to the prevention of humanitarian assistance because it's misunderstood. It also harms the,
04:49how do you say, the security and the safety of civilians that are already under a lot of strain.
04:54They don't know which source of information to trust. They don't know what is true, what is false.
05:00They don't know where to go to be safe. And the IHCRC has been working on it for many, many years.
05:05We have issued recommendations and we continue to do so for states, for the private sector,
05:11for academic institutions, for militaries, for national governments, measures that they
05:19can implement in order to mitigate the harm of misinformation.
05:23You recently said the promise made by countries through the Geneva Convention that even in war,
05:30there should be limits, is under serious threat. Can you expand on that?
05:35That's precisely the point. What we see is, and what we hear, is politicians using very dangerous
05:45language. Language. Language that dehumanizes the other side. And we, we should remember what happened
05:54in the Second World War. We should remember that we don't want to go back there. We should remember
05:59that we should never say that this specific people should be annihilated, expelled. We should never
06:08say things like this territory should be annihilated, destroyed so that the people can never return.
06:15Humanitarian space is shrinking due to challenges like funding and to some extent politicization of
06:21aid. What steps can governments take to protect and expand this space?
06:27Through their political means, their diplomatic relations with states, through their economic
06:34relations with states, but also through their military cooperation with states.
06:39What helps us, the humanitarian neutral intermediary on the ground to protect civilians and to bring
06:46assistance to them is when states call their allies that are involved in military operations and tell them
06:52to respect the rules so that we can act. To restrain the force when it comes to protecting civilians
07:00and civilian infrastructure. And the most important elements here are to protect hospitals,
07:07to protect water facilities and to protect energy distribution facilities or installations because
07:17you can have a hospital only if you have access to water and if you have access to electricity.
07:22and you can only provide food if there's water and if you have energy to reach the people.
07:29You recently visited Thailand and last year Myanmar. Can you tell us about those visits and how have these
07:36tensions between Thailand and Cambodia highlighted the importance of IHL in regional stability?
07:43We've been in Myanmar, we've been at the border between Cambodia and Thailand
07:50for a long time and we have a trusted dialogue with the authorities. So when conflicts erupt,
07:57we immediately offer to support the relevant entities including the national societies to help
08:04de-escalate the situation. These dialogues are confidential but I can say that they had very constructive
08:11conversations both in Myanmar with the neighbouring countries included in Bangkok that I visited earlier this week and these conversations will continue by myself, by my colleagues, by our delegations on the ground.
08:26In your assessment and your view, how is the Philippines doing in upholding the international humanitarian law?
08:36The Philippines are leading in many aspects in their cooperation with the ICSC.
08:41We have a very institutionalized, regular and constructive dialogue with the armed forces.
08:51We work with the foreign ministry, we work with local authorities. You have become a strong advocate for
08:59compliance with international humanitarian law in multilateral fora and this is very important for us.
09:05In the Philippines, where peace efforts like those in the BARM and with groups like the CPPA, NPA, NDF are prioritized, how can respecting IHL pave the way for a more sustainable peace?
09:19We speak with governments. Governments are the state parties to the Geneva Conventions and that's where our mandate is anchored.
09:27But we also uphold a humanitarian dialogue with approximately 250 armed groups.
09:40They are not state parties to the conventions but they have legal obligations through customary law
09:47to uphold the same rules and principles. And when we train forces, we also train armed groups. We reach out to them in a similar way
09:57and discuss with them how to uphold the rules of war. The dialogue in itself is de-escalating. Once people realize what the impact is
10:10of military operations on the civilian population, it can create measures or it can lead to measures of restraint.
10:21Similarly, conversations about the first steps towards the ceasefire can build confidence between the parties to return to the negotiation table.
10:31I give you very concrete examples. We visit detainees in border regions where there is conflict.
10:37We help with repatriations. Recently, we have conducted a large, very large operation between Russia and Ukraine.
10:45We repatriated detainees in Yemen in agreement with all the parties. We helped and supported the release of 148 hostages from Gaza,
10:551,700 Palestinian detainees.
11:00We work with both sides to a conflict or with all sides whenever necessary as we do currently between
11:07the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the different parties involved to establish mechanisms to repatriate
11:22disarmed servicemen, civilians, as a first step towards a more stable agreement.
11:30You are set to visit Marawi. There are still over 300 missing individuals from that conflict. How important
11:37is that this issue be resolved and addressed? And how is IACRC helping in this issue?
11:44I will visit Marawi for the first time and I'm preparing for this visit
11:51also because I want to understand the situation on the ground. There are several hundred missing
11:57people that we still need to identify, find, so that the families can mourn or bury their relatives and
12:06loved ones in dignity. The conflict erupts quickly. Destruction, displacement, killing happens quickly.
12:14But the trauma it creates lasts for generations and the society never fully returns to normalcy.
12:21You have to take this seriously because it's decisive in whether a region finds back to functioning
12:30economies and to lasting peace and stability. Is there any danger of conflicts occurring again if these
12:39issues are not resolved? Trauma, reconciliation, dealing with the past are essentials in bringing peace to
12:48a region. If you become dismissive about it, if you neglect the human suffering and the long-term consequences
12:57that it creates, you always increase the risk of recurring conflicts and reigniting tensions.
13:06Conflict happens. International humanitarian law doesn't prevent conflict, but we want to limit the harm
13:13so that the return to peace is more possible and faster. The more violence happens, the more atrocities
13:25happen, the longer it takes. Again, I'm referring to the second world war. We're still dealing with the past as far as
13:35the world wars are concerned. You see how long it takes. This is why you have to limit the harm. You have to limit
13:41the endless suffering because it haunts you and it haunts every country that watches it without trying
13:49to contain it. And this is why I'm calling on states to make the rules of war their political priority.
13:59Thank you very much, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you for this opportunity. Thank you.
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