My visit to Syria this week reinforced my view that conflict in the region is now a frightening new normal. Battles fought according to the logic of retaliation continue to grow in intensity, with no thought given to their devastating impact on civilians.
The level of suffering in Eastern Ghouta is the latest example of this sad reality, and the same applies to Afrine as well as Mosul, Sana'a and Taiz. All too often, destruction seems to be a goal in itself, in defiance of basic standards of humanity.
This week, the Syrian crisis entered its eighth year. How much longer will the powers involved in the fighting allow it to continue? They certainly know that a war of vengeance is a never-ending war, from which no one wins.
During my last visit to Syria ten months ago, I saw signs of hope. Reconstruction and the return of those who had had to flee seemed possible. Today, the situation has deteriorated significantly.
What hope is there for children who have seen their families decimated and witnessed atrocities? What hope is there for the little boy I met in a displaced persons camp who hasn't been to school in years?
The Syrian conflict is marked by recurrent violations of international humanitarian law: siege situations, blockades, disproportionate attacks in urban areas, civilians and civilian services targeted, including ambulances, water supply stations and markets.
These tactics are used not only in Syria, but throughout the region: it's a geopolitical chess game in which human lives are at stake. Over the past few weeks, I have visited various countries in the Middle East and witnessed the human cost of indiscriminate warfare.
The people I met are exhausted - exhausted by the bombs and rockets falling on civilian neighborhoods, exhausted by not knowing what happened to their loved ones who were detained or disappeared.
Like many humanitarians on the ground, I myself am tired and disgusted by the vain arguments put forward to justify the flagrant violations committed against civilians. Human lives have the same value, whether in Ghouta, Damascus, Aleppo, Mosul, Syria or Yemen. And people suffer all the more when humanitarian aid is prevented from doing its job. Humanitarian aid must never be instrumentalized and integrated into the political process.
These three essential issues - humanitarian access, protection of civilians and humane treatment of detainees - are not just desirable objectives, but moral and legal obligations.
Syria is the ICRC's largest and most complex operation. Having been there for many years, we are particularly familiar with the needs of civilians. As long as rockets continue to fall on Eastern Ghouta and Damascus, as long as fighting continues in Afrin, as long as millions of people remain displaced, the ICRC's message will remain the same:
- The Geneva Conventions must be respected, and the civilian population and infrastructure protected.
- Humanitarian actors must have unhindered access, across the front lines, to all affected populations, without exception, in order to provide assistance.
- The ICRC must have access to detainees to ensure that they are treated humanely.
- All those who sell arms that could be used in violation of international humanitarian law must stop such sales. While it is the responsibility of combatants and commanders to ensure law-abiding behavior in military operations, arms suppliers also bear part of the responsibility.
- With regard to return and migration, displaced people should only return to their homes if they wish to do so and if the security situation is stable.
The toll taken by seven years of conflict in Syria is terrible:
- hundreds of thousands of people were killed or injured;
- 6.1 million people are internally displaced;
- 4 out of 5 people live in poverty;
- 13 million people, including 6 million children, need humanitarian aid;
- 1.75 million children are no longer in school;
- 2.9 million people live in besieged and inaccessible areas.