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" Humanitarian assistance, once conceived as a short-term relief effort, is increasingly the only substitute for long-term development work in protracted armed conflicts. "

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" Not enough countries, not enough armies, not enough armed groups are abiding by the fundamental human values enshrined in the Geneva Conventions. "

Peter Maurer

Values

Human

Enough

" We still have a strong commitment to our original mission, which is to protect and assist people who are suffering from the impact of violence, but the violence has changed its character, format, and pattern so that we are now responding year after year. "

" Attacks on health facilities, health workers, ambulances, is now a reality that we observe on the ground - not on a monthly but on a daily or weekly scale in most of the conflicts in which we are engaged. "

" We see a transformation of warfare from the big armies and battlefields in open spaces to a fragmentation of armed groups and smaller armies, which move into city centres, which increasingly become the theatre of warfare. "

" Economic activity can help repair war-torn societies, but if it's not conducted responsibly, it can also create or prolong violence. Companies and international organisations must help strengthen communities and overcome the trauma of violence. "

" I think we are challenged in how we define humanitarian action today and how we relate to long-term needs. We are also confronted with legitimate expectations from the people who want us to respond far more thoroughly to their basic pleas than we would have done in a much more contained form of conflict. "

" We live in an environment in which connectivity and cyberspace are transforming all workplaces, including the humanitarian workplace. "

" Experience shows that the reliance on illegal, immoral, and inhumane interrogation techniques is universally a very poor choice. "

" Torture and other forms of cruel or humiliating treatment are an affront to humanity, and the physical and psychological scars can last a lifetime. "

" The abuse of civilians and combatants has existed since the dawn of time. "

" We need to understand that the Geneva Conventions are not just some historical documents born of another time, created for another purpose. "

" Self-reliance is not always possible; we have to acknowledge that there are situations of dramatic crisis which will force us to substitute non-existing public delivery systems. "

" It is very clear from the text of the Geneva Conventions that families have the right to know about the whereabouts of their missing and that belligerents have a duty to inform families if they have indication and if they are detaining people. "

" As responsible politicians, you have to manage migration. "

" Cities are drivers of growth and wealth, and at the same time, cities are becoming increasingly violent. "

" Conflicts are not temporary interruptions: they are structural, socio-economic catastrophes, and funding must be allocated accordingly. "

" People living through armed conflicts need infrastructure and services which will last, and the last thing on their mind is which budget line applies. "

" Businesses operating in fragile or conflict-affected environments bear a responsibility to, at the very minimum, do no harm and avoid fuelling conflict or reinforcing fragility. "

" The whole essence of humanitarian work and the Geneva Convention is that neutral, impartial organisations can operate during war. "

" Can you really send back people to where they are fleeing from? "

" The issue of corruption in the humanitarian system is not an issue which is fundamentally different from dangers of corruption in other areas. One of the best ways to strengthen accountability is to engage in principled and law-based humanitarian action. "

" It's one thing if a politician in a small country says a little bit of torturing is good to do. There is a qualitative difference... when it's a candidate to run a superpower. "

" Concrete steps are needed to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in military plans, doctrines, and policies. "

" Short-termism is no longer an option. We have to envisage humanitarian action with a medium- and long-term perspective. "

" If you back out of a convention... you can't dodge your obligation. Torture is still not acceptable. "

" Suffering does not change its face. "

" The creative capacity of the private sector should be harnessed to develop new and more effective ways to deliver humanitarian solutions. "

" Where you are born, your parent's beliefs, or your ethnic background should not make you a target. "

" The humanitarian ecosystem is diverse - not only is there a variety of traditional humanitarian actors, but the system should also embrace an increasing diversity of private sector actors. "

" It has always been clear that any use of nuclear weapons would have catastrophic humanitarian consequences. "