Statement at High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution
IFRC statement for the plenary session delivered by IFRC Humanitarian Affairs Advisor, Andrea Canepa on behalf of IFRC Permanent Observer Dylan Winder.
Thank you to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France for organising this important conference.
Much has been said on the unbearable situation being faced by people in Palestine and the challenges humanitarian actors are facing.
The humanitarian space to provide life-saving goods and services has been rendered almost non-existent. We have called, since the beginning of this conflict, for an immediate, sustained and unhindered flow of aid to be allowed into Gaza, at the scale needed to meet the immense needs, and in line with universally accepted international rules and principles. This has perhaps never been more urgent as we hear from our Palestine Red Cresent Society colleagues in Gaza. They are receiving people fainting and sick due to hunger at their medical facilities, whilst they cannot even feed themselves or their own children. Member States must ensure access for humanitarian assistance and protection, and they must consider and address the conditions and specific access challenges facing local humanitarian actors such as PRCS. Local humanitarians are often far from the limelight, but they are the ones sustaining what is left of the humanitarian response. PRCS continues to provide a wide array of health services across Gaza, including ambulances and field hospitals, adapting to impossible operational conditions to maintain services and reach people where they are.
We cannot accept any mechanism that does not allow humanitarian aid to be distributed in accordance with humanitarian principles. As we have seen, this strips human beings of their dignity, fails to respond to the level and complexity of needs, and creates drastic security risks, including people being killed and injured. PRCS ambulances and hospitals are having to deal with regular mass casualty events with people reporting they were trying to access food at distribution sites. We call on Member States to support longstanding and accepted modes of aid delivery specifically designed to meet humanitarian needs and to protect the dignity and life of the population affected, recognizing the role of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and all those impartially providing a life-saving response.
Excellencies,
We are also facing a crisis in the protection of civilians, including of humanitarian and medical personnel. Since the start of this crisis, more than 50 PRCS staff and volunteers have been killed, including 30 in the line of duty. This cannot continue. Failure to protect humanitarian workers in Palestine leaves them unprotected everywhere. We have seen Red Cross Red Crescent staff and volunteers killed in the line of duty around the world, including in Magen David Adom, the National Society of Israel. Concrete measures are needed by Member States to provide accountability to the victims, halt further attacks and reinstate respect for the Red Cross and Red Crescent emblem and all humanitarians. This includes ensuring there is accountability for the killing of 8 PRCS members, alongside 7 fellow medics, in March this year, in an attack that was not the first nor the last, but that shocked our collective conscience.
We recognize the continuation of the hostage situation, and of the medical and humanitarian personnel being deprived of liberty and call for respect for the life and dignity of all people affected.
Lastly, despite its relentless efforts, PRCS is facing extreme and mounting challenges to its operations in Gaza, but also in the West Bank. Conditions and access restrictions in the West Bank severely impact the population and PRCS’ ability to reach people in need. Member States can and must ensure this Conference leads to immediate action to address and prevent further deterioration of the situation in the West Bank, that appropriately address the root causes, and to support and protect the indispensable role of PRCS within the healthcare and humanitarian response. This is a humanitarian catastrophe. More aid must reach Gaza now.
Thank you.