World Must Recommit to Geneva Conventions: Red Cross

The Red Cross, a humanitarian organization, called on nations around the globe to recommit to the Geneva Conventions on the anniversary of the treaties that set out standards for the humane treatment of people affected by war.

"International humanitarian law is under strain, disregarded, undermined to justify violence," International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric said on Monday, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

"The world must recommit to this robust protective framework for armed conflict, one that follows the premise of protecting life instead of justifying death," she added.

Monday, August 12, marks the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions being finalized. The International Committee of the Red Cross described the The Geneva Conventions as "international treaties that contain the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war. They protect people who do not take part in the fighting (civilians, medics, aid workers) and those who can no longer fight (wounded, sick and shipwrecked troops, prisoners of war)."

The conventions were later adopted by nearly all countries around the globe, but they are currently facing issues relating to the ongoing wars between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, as well as Russia and Ukraine.

Dating back to the 19th century, the conventions are designed to establish rules for warfare, prohibiting torture and sexual violence, ensuring humane treatment of detainees and mandating searches for missing persons.

At the International Committee of the Red Cross headquarters in Geneva, Spoljaric said that the Geneva Conventions "reflect a global consensus that all wars have limits," adding that "the dehumanization of both enemy fighters and civilian populations is a path to ruin and disaster."

According to the AP, the Red Cross argues that the conventions are more crucial now than ever, citing over 120 active conflicts worldwide—a six-fold increase since the 50th anniversary in 1999.

Today, many nations and combatants manipulate loopholes in international humanitarian law or interpret it to suit their needs. As a result, hospitals, schools and ambulances are being targeted, aid workers and civilians are killed and some countries deny access to detainees.

"While governments and media focus on destruction in Ukraine and Gaza, armed conflicts elsewhere take a similarly shocking toll. Violence in Ethiopia has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives," Spoljaric said. "Fighting has displaced 8 million in Sudan and 6 million in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Protracted conflicts in Mali, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Syria, and Yemen all take a grinding human cost.

She added, "If parties to conflict are allowed to devalue human lives based on nationality, race, religion, or political beliefs, the foundation of IHL [international humanitarian law]—our common humanity—collapses."

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