Those double standards on the skin of conflict victims. Warning to G7 leaders

The expert Miro Modrusan, representative of the humanitarian organization Intersos in Geneva, speaks

ROME – Standing on the side of humanity. Respecting people and their rights, even in situations of armed conflict. And by offering more help, in a concrete way, in the many and always too many crisis areas of the world: requests on the G7 table highlighted by the expert Miro Modrusan, representative of the G7 in Geneva humanitarian organization Intersos.

INTERSOS WITH THE ALLIANCE CIVIL 7

The occasion is an interview with the Dire agency on the sidelines of the Civil 7 summit, an alliance of civil societies that met at the FAO headquarters in Rome a few days ago. The focus is on the G7 summit of heads of state and government scheduled for Borgo Egnazia, Puglia, from 13 to 15 June. We start with the many conflict fronts in the world, in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. “Our perspective is that all lives are equally valuable and there should be no double standards,” Modrusan’s premise. “Unfortunately, in the 21st century, now 75 years after the Geneva Convention that all states signed, it is necessary to remember it again: we must put an end to all the atrocities that occur in the Ethiopian region of Tigray in Sudan, in the Gaza Strip or in Ukraine“.

The concerns of Intersos, as well as many other organizations involved in assisting communities affected by violence, are both local and global. “There are conflicts that have continued over time and new, increasingly numerous conflicts” highlights Modrusan. “Today we denounce that international humanitarian law is despised; this has consequences on our ability to intervene, in compliance with principles that for us are ‘sacred rules’: neutrality, non-politicisation and independence >”. These points are also highlighted in the document released by Civil 7 in view of the Borgo Egnazia summit. The G7 is asked to “publish a joint declaration and implement policies that decisively place humanity and the right to life and dignity at the center of the multilateral humanitarian agenda“. The issue of resources to be allocated to the most vulnerable communities was then mentioned. Heads of government are urged to “review together with civil societies the financing policies of all G7 states and untie the knots with donors that prevent the provision of equitable and impartial to those who need it most”.