Berlin, Germany, 24 June 2022 — Humanitarian access barriers and denial of aid are exacerbating humanitarian needs, as the war in Ukraine drives record levels of humanitarian need and food insecurity in contexts like the Horn of Africa and Yemen. More than 200 million people live in conflict zones where access to humanitarian assistance is classified as "very difficult" or "extremely limited”. This has become a hallmark of contemporary warfare.
Access to assistance and civilian protection are fundamental tenets of the rules-based international order. Yet accountability for access denial is lacking.
The 2022 G7 Summit provides an opportunity for global leaders to make tangible commitments to improve humanitarian access and reaffirm support for mechanisms designed to ensure accountability for violations of international law. Public support for bold foreign political actions is at an historic high. G7 countries should ensure that 2022 marks a “Zeitenwende” in efforts to ensure civilians in conflict are protected and supported to access the assistance they need.
Germany as the host of the G7 and staunch defender of the multilateral, rules-based order, should lead diplomatic efforts to place a commitment to IHL at the heart of the G7 summit.
IRC calls on G7 member states to reaffirm a collective commitment to IHL in the G7 Summit leaders’ communiqué by including pledges to:
- Invest in better use of available mechanisms for IHL accountability, in particular UN-mandated mechanisms, and defending these against opposition from other states;
- Invest in improved efforts to independently monitor humanitarian access barriers and denial as a basis for expanded diplomatic efforts to overcome the challenges faced by humanitarian actors in the delivery of aid;
- Dedicate a session at the UNGA Foreign Ministers meeting to agreeing on concrete G7 commitments for improved humanitarian access and IHL accountability with measurable goals and follow-up mechanisms.
Ralph Achenbach, IRC Germany Executive Director, comments:
“From Afghanistan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Mali, modern warfare has come to be defined by militaries and governments denying aid access. Yet, the response to these trends continues to demonstrate a global system failure. Legal mechanisms designed to protect civilians are failing them - and yet we cling to the illusion of a competent system.
"If the international community cannot establish accountability for international rule-breaking even for wars and conflicts with the greatest publicity, as in Ukraine, how will it ever successfully combat 'forgotten crises'? It is horrors like Butcha or the bombing of refugee corridors that remind us once again of the importance of upholding the international rules that form the basis of the global peace order and safeguard multilateralism for the future.
"Germany has set a strong example in committing to substantially increase humanitarian and development funding for high risk contexts and through the launching of important initiatives such as the Humanitarian Call to Action. As G7 President and host of the upcoming G7 summit, the German government should now match these bold commitments with concerted action to drive joint diplomatic action to address humanitarian access barriers, and drive a collective commitment to protect the rights of civilians through the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols; the United Nations Charter; and more recently, U.N. Security Council resolutions, such as Resolution 2286 on the protection of health in conflict and 2417 on food insecurity. This is the only way to protect our international rules-based order."
Humanitarian access is critical to the survival of millions of people. Here is an overview of some figures - including civilian casualties:
- Ukraine: There have been more than 10,000 civilian casualties (4,569 dead, 5,691 injured) in the last five months, mostly due to artillery and air strikes;
- Syria: According to an IRC report, medical personnel accounted for 25% of all recorded killings in Syria over the past five years, and barely half of all health facilities are fully functional. At least 875 civilian deaths and 1,259 injuries were documented in 2021. Over the past five years, Syria has seen the most deaths (174) and injuries among humanitarian workers (157);
- Yemen: In 2021, approximately 19 million people lived in areas where the delivery of aid was impeded. Since January 1, 2018 there have been 13,844 civilian casualties - 4,252 from airstrikes and 4,511 from shelling. There has also been a significant increase in bombing since the UN resolution expired;
- Democratic Republic of Congo: at least 2,474 civilians were killed and 2,538 wounded in 2021, and there were 17 abductions.