Oxfam Takes a Stand for Civilians of All Nations
7 August 2006
The rockets and bombs that are raining down on Lebanon, Gaza, and Israel have something in common: they are striking unarmed civilians. Hundreds and hundreds of non-combatants—many of them children—have been killed and maimed in the escalating violence.
It’s an uneasy business to decide who is fair game in times of war, but it’s clear who isn’t: The elderly and disabled. Babies, children, and their caregivers. Pregnant women. Hospital patients. In fact, the entire civilian population—the people who have chosen not to take up arms—deserves protection from those that have. This principle is enshrined in the Fourth Geneva Convention, and every party to the armed conflicts in the Middle East is subject to its mandate.
Cutting civilians off from essential food, clean water, shelter, and medical care can be as lethal as bombs and bullets, and international civilian-protection laws reflect this reality. In other words, civilians who find themselves in the midst of armed conflict not only deserve access to humanitarian assistance—it is their right.
Oxfam calls on all the warring parties in Lebanon, Israel, and Gaza to end the armed conflict immediately and to ensure that aid providers quickly gain access to all those in need. We are keenly interested in longer-term solutions that will result in a lasting peace—solutions that must be negotiated by the warring parties, the UN Security Council, and other members of the international community—but the attacks on civilians must end without delay.
The laws of war are aimed at preventing armed forces from losing all humanity in the heat and terror of battle. The time to heed those laws is now.
28 July 2006
