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" In our fibre-optic world of tweets and tablets, we are more conscious of the world around us. The technicolour violence and humanitarian abuses of today are just a flick of a switch away. In our homes, on the train, in our coffee shops, we see it, we feel it, we know about it. All of us. All of the time. Human suffering is visible, constantly. "

Peter Maurer

Time

Suffering

" There is a clear business case for building the resilience and capacity of local communities, businesses, and institutions because a peaceful, educated, and productive population will stimulate economic growth in the long term. "

" New technologies are rapidly giving rise to unprecedented methods of warfare. Innovations that yesterday were science fiction could cause catastrophe tomorrow, including nanotechnologies, combat robots, and laser weapons. "

" Torture can destroy the social fabric of communities, degrade a society's institutions, and undermine the integrity of its political systems. "

" The sad fact is that horrendous human conflict is nothing new. "

" There is great potential for investments that are built around improving social, environmental, and economic conditions. "

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

" You treat detainees humanely because you know the other side will also treat detainees humanely. "

" 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. "

" Local businesses and communities must be included from the very start in developing solutions to fragility, violence, and conflict. "

" If private-sector capital can be harnessed for social good, the potential to scale humanitarian solutions is vast. "

" Each day that passes without kids being able to go to school is an enormous burden on the future. "

Peter Maurer

School

Without

" We need to understand that the Geneva Conventions are not just some historical documents born of another time, created for another purpose.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

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

" Every day, we hear of civilians being killed and wounded in violation of the basic rules of international humanitarian law and with total impunity. Instability is spreading. Suffering is growing. No country can remain untouched. "

" The fragility created by protracted conflicts, resulting in destroyed cities and dramatically insufficient services, is not something that humanitarian organizations can address comprehensively. Only political solutions can end armed conflicts. "

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

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

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

" As conflicts last longer, as the scale of needs increase, we are having to adapt. There is an increasing blurring between immediate humanitarian assistance and long-term development needs. "

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

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

" What the hell is happening to the world when those who were at the origin of... international humanitarian law start questioning in public debates whether it has any relevance or should be respected? "

" The principal cause of suffering during humanitarian crises is insufficient respect of applicable rules of international humanitarian law. "

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

" We need to continue to modernise current humanitarian work while at the same time drive a more systemic shift in how we envision the operation and financing of humanitarian solutions. "

Peter Maurer

Need

Drive

" Conflicts are increasingly causing devastation in densely populated urban centres rather than open battlefields, creating a host of new problems through the cumulative impact from the destruction of vital services like water and electricity. "

" Although the ICRC and the World Economic Forum have separate missions, they both are centred on collaboration across sectors and between various actors in order to improve the state of the world. "

" Wars are getting longer, they are more complex, and the humanitarian need is great. "

Peter Maurer

Need

Humanitarian

" The discourse of sovereignty is a relative one when a crisis has become a global crisis. "