Since we are living in a time of war, more than ever, we need to talk about universal humanitarian principles, which must be respected during armed conflicts. Or, to put it another way: to the horrors and atrocities that we witness daily, through the images broadcast on television channels, we need to oppose and defend International Humanitarian Law. No one can accept bombs being dropped on civilians, schools, hospitals, bridges, railway lines, dams or infrastructure intended for energy production for the entire population. No one can accept that war crimes have been committed. There are rules that must be observed by the parties in conflict. There are limits that cannot be exceeded. Locations, urban or rural, cannot be attacked indiscriminately. Civilizations cannot be incinerated with a bomb. Unquestionable.
It is therefore understandable that everyone is interested in humanitarian activity, which will inevitably have to occupy a main importance in thought. It’s a question of humanism and intelligence.
Many readers will remember that, in 2017, upon reaching the age limit, at 70 years old, I ended the functions I carried out at the Directorate-General for Health and that, soon after, I fulfilled the mandate of President of the Portuguese Red Cross, with volunteer status, between 2017-2021. I therefore have doubled reason to be able to intervene in the debate on the foundations of humanitarian action.
I start at the beginning.
Italy was divided into several states until unification was achieved in 1861. Independence, proclaimed that year, resulted from a long sequence of wars, notably against the Austrian Empire. In this process, on June 24, 1859, the Italian troops of the King of Sardinia, Victor Emanuel II, defeated the Austrian forces in Solferino. At the end of the day, the more than 300 thousand soldiers from the two armies involved in the confrontation left around 40 thousand injured and six thousand dead on the ground, bloodied by the carnage. A horror witnessed by Henry Dunant (1828-1910), who was there by mere chance and who would later report in the following terms: “whole battalions were left without food; companies, which had been ordered to drop their backpacks, had absolutely nothing. In some places there was no water and the thirst was so intense that the officers and soldiers drank, from muddy puddles, filthy water full of blood. The horses fled in all directions, among cries of fear and screams of anger.
(Continues)
Leave a Reply