PERMANENT MISSION
***
Statement by H.E. Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi,
Apostolic Nuncio,
Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the
United Nations and Other Specialized Organizations at the 31st
International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent
Madame Chairperson,
1. Today’s crises can arrive totally unexpected. Economic, political and
humanitarian upheavals worries both the ‘developing’ and the ‘developed’ world.
Centres of tension multiply. Violent conflicts are fought in urban
conglomerates and it is difficult to distinguish between combatants and
civilians who continue to be, by far, the first victims, dead, injured,
disabled, of armed conflicts. Action for humanity becomes urgent and demands
concrete answers. ‘Public conscience’ as referred to in the “Martens’ Clause” needs to be reawaken.[1]
2. Areas of concern targeted for discussion are the
worldwide impact of natural disasters and related displacement; the rapidly
changing nature of human vulnerability; the evolving human and material cost of
contemporary armed conflicts and other situations of violence, that make access
to health more difficult; increasing global migration. These concerns indicate
new developments that provoke human suffering. Life moves ahead of legislation
and thus ‘public conscience’ serves well while the international community
awaits for legal measures to catch up with life. In the meantime the same
effort must continue to develop rules that prevent suffering and save lives
that marked the emergence of international humanitarian law from its
beginning. The acquired patrimony of values and norms has to be
preserved, applied and made more relevant and responsive to new situations. Yet
the inhumanity of conflicts, particularly when the use of arms is chosen to
resolve tensions and controversies that could be solved by means provided by
dialogue and negotiation, and the inadequate response to some recent
emergencies, are before our eyes. International humanitarian law, in the name
of a common good, is always a warning to renounce violence on any person,
civilian or combatant, prohibiting the indiscriminate and unrestraint use of
violence and weapons. Increasingly it should
become the basis for action inspired by solidarity toward the direct or indirect victims of natural or man-made disasters.
3. There are moments when peoples and nations are
compelled to claim the right to protect their existence, dignity and freedom.
‘Public conscience’, common to the human family, makes us aware that
unfortunately this goal of protection often becomes an occasion to use
degrading means both distant from the legal achievements of international law
and ineffective in resolving conflicts and disputes. The adoption of dialogue
and negotiation, including through the intervention of an impartial third party
or of an international authority with sufficient powers, now is a choice no
longer to be postponed.[2] Responsible dialogue will guarantee to
opposing parties the respect of their legitimate aspirations and a durable
peace.
The end of conflicts always carries with it the
problem of repatriation of prisoners of war, a humanitarian problem par excellence, that from the
perspective of the Holy See includes the reunification of families and the
resumption of normal affections, effective ways to ensure reconciliation and
justice.
Following the indications of this Conference it will
be necessary to consolidate proposals
for effective action plans. The
international community can not ignore the persons kept away from their loved
ones and their country without a justifiable reason; the victims of the
devastating effects of violent conflicts and the civilians suffering from civil
conflicts that by now have become endemic. Our thoughts turn to children
victims of war or uprooted from their
families and recruited as child soldiers. Millions of refugees and displaced
persons also are anxious to return to
their land especially since, while forcibly relocated in other regions, they
see threatened their ethnic, religious or linguistic identity, and even their
very existence.
4. International humanitarian law
should be able to respond to emergency situations determined by natural and
man-made disasters. Effective action should be guided by solid ethical and
moral principles. This task can not be ignored by the various currents of
thought, nor by faith-communities, and the way forward is to retrace the same
path that led to the great achievements of the protection of the human person.
In such conflicts, humanitarian action, if inspired by solidarity, a spirit of
brotherhood and loyal service[3], it
will be integrated in a comprehensive and effective plan that includes, inter alia, reconstruction, medical care
and a sense of justice.
5. The Holy See does not present technical solutions for the problems
posed by today’s emergencies. It considers it her duty, however, to point out
at this Conference that no principle, no tradition, no claim - whatever its
legitimacy - authorizes to inflict on a people repressive actions or inhuman
treatment - more so when it consists of innocent and defenceless civilians. It
does so in the name of the supremacy of those «principles of international law…and
the requirements of public conscience» that remain the solid foundation of
international humanitarian law. In this context, we are reminded that the
simple application of the law is not sufficient. Pope John Paul II, reflecting
on his experience under Nazi and Communist totalitarianism, wrote: «True peace
… is the fruit of justice, that moral virtue and legal guarantee which ensures
full respect for rights and responsibilities, and the just distribution of
benefits and burdens. But because human justice is always fragile and
imperfect, subject as it is to the limitations and egoism of individuals and
groups, it must include and, as it were, be completed by the forgiveness
which heals and rebuilds troubled human relations from their foundations».[4]
7. These, Madame
Chairperson, are some thoughts that the Delegation of the Holy See wants to
present this Conference to encourage governments and international institutions
to help break existing stalemates; to take specific and timely steps to
overcome conflicts; to look in a new
light at victims of cluster bombs, mines and other weapons; to renew concern
for refugees and displaced persons; to enact generous forms of solidarity with
all victims of disasters, catastrophes and conflicts and thus fulfil the
aspiration for unity of the human family.
Thank you, Madame
Chairperson!
[1] According to the Martens’ Clause: «populations and
belligerents remain under the protection and empire of the principles of
international law, as they result from the usages established between civilized nations, from the laws of
humanity and from the requirements of the public
conscience»; 1899 Hague Convention No. II,
Preamble, 9.
[2] See Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 67.
[3] See Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 19.
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