Médecins Sans Frontières Say 75 Hospitals Bombed in 2015, Leave UN Humanitarian Summit
SPECIAL FEATURE, 16 May 2016
teleSUR – TRANSCEND Media Service
The Medical Aid Organization Says It Does Not Have Hope in the “Fig Leaf” Summit
Hospital beds lay in the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, April 26, 2016, about six months after an American airstrike killed dozens of patients. | Photo: Reuters
10 May 2016 – Doctors Without Borders on Thursday [5 May] pulled out of a U.N.-sponsored World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul on May 23-24 saying there was no hope that the meeting would address the weaknesses in humanitarian action and emergency response, particularly in conflict areas or epidemic situations, while claiming 75 of their hospitals were bombed in 2015.
The organization, better known by their French acronym MSF, believes that during the summit will not hold states involved in conflicts accountable or pressure them to abide by humanitarian norms.
“We no longer have any hope that the World Humanitarian Summit will address the weaknesses in humanitarian action and emergency response, particularly in conflict areas or epidemic situations,” MSD said in a statement.
“As shocking violations of international humanitarian law and refugee rights continue on a daily basis … participants will be pressed to a consensus on nonspecific, good intentions to ‘uphold norms’ and ‘end needs’,” Sandrine Tiller, an advisor for the organization said that U.N. organizers of the summit had “let states off the hook” by asking only that they make non-binding commitments, putting them on the same level as less powerful non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies.
“The summit has become a fig-leaf of good intentions, allowing these systematic violations, by states above all, to be ignored,” the MSF explained.
The announcement comes after Doctors Without Borders on Tuesday slammed five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council for ties to attacks on hospitals in Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan.
The attack on the Syrian hospital killed at least 50 people according to a statement by the organization. They also claim that 75 hospitals managed or supported by Doctors Without Borders were bombed in 2015.
Go to Original – telesurtv.net
DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.