The Geneva Conventions were signed 75 years ago and August 19 marks World Humanitarian Day. With conflicts raging all over the world, to what extent do the European Union and its member states provide humanitarian aid to other countries and their citizens in need? The Geneva Conventions, which aim to protect the human rights of civilians caught up in war through international humanitarian law, were signed 75 years ago.
The four Geneva Conventions signed on August 12, 1949 have been ratified by 196 countries - by all United Nations members as well as by some other entities which could ratify these international treaties.
The strictly neutral International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is supposed to monitor compliance with the conventions worldwide. With more than 120 active conflicts worldwide today, ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric appealed to states and groups involved in conflicts around the world to renew their commitment to the Geneva Conventions.
The conventions stipulate rules for humanitarian aid relief, stating that "parties to the conflict must allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need, which is impartial in character and conducted without any adverse distinction, subject to their right of control".
August 19 marks World Humanitarian Day, dedicated to recognising humanitarian personnel who strive to support, save and protect people at the front lines of conflicts around the globe, and to commemorate those who have died working for humanitarian causes.
On August 19, 2003, 22 humanitarian aid workers including the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello, were killed in a bomb attack in the capital city Baghdad. In 2008, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating August 19 as World Humanitarian Day.
Three decades of EU humanitarian aid European Union member states and institutions are among the world's largest donors of humanitarian aid. Since 1992, the European Commission has been providing humanitarian aid in more than 110 countries, reaching millions of people around the world each year.
Funding for humanitarian aid operations is intended for countries outside the EU. In addition, the European Commission can finance emergency relief operations to respond to disasters of exceptional scale within the bloc.
EU-funded humanitarian aid is provided in collaboration with UN agencies, international organisations and NGOs. It covers various areas of intervention from food and nutrition to accommodation and health care, including water and sanitation or education in emergency situations.
The European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) was created in 1992 as an expression of European solidarity with people in need around the world. A network of Commission humanitarian experts in more than 40 countries around the world closely monitors crisis situations and relief operations.
Aid to Gaza and Ukraine in the spotlight In February, the Commission announced an initial humanitarian aid budget of more than 1.8 billion Euro for 2024, of which nearly 470 million is to be allocated in the Middle East and North Africa to address the humanitarian needs of Gaza and the Palestinian civilian population, as well as the ongoing regional crises in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and neighbouring countries.
In addition to the humanitarian aid provided and/or coordinated by the EU, member states also have their own competences and budgets to provide humanitarian assistance to foreign countries in need.
However, earlier this year, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said that "as we enter 2024, the gap between humanitarian needs and resources available continues to widen". He recalled that in 2023 not even 40 percent of the 56.7 billion Dollars needed to accurately respond to humanitarian crises worldwide were provided.
Since the war in Gaza broke out on October 7 last year, the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory remains dire, with almost all of its 2.4 million population displaced and suffering from food shortages.
The EU is the biggest international financial backer of the Palestinians, with its support between 2021 and 2024 estimated at 1.2 billion Euro. At the end of July, the EU said it had begun paying 400 million Euro in emergency funding to the Palestinian Authority to help address its "critical" budget problems.
Brussels said the first 150-million-Euro tranche includes grants to help pay the salaries of civil servants in the West Bank and support vulnerable families. It also said that in early September it will introduce a legislative proposal for a "Comprehensive Programme for Palestinian Recovery and Resilience".
In July, the Romanian government approved emergency humanitarian aid worth about 1.7 million Euro to the civilian population in Gaza, consisting of food and shelter items. Since the beginning of Russia's war in Ukraine in 2022, Romania has also been providing constant humanitarian aid to support Ukrainian citizens.
Slovenia has set a target of increasing the level of its development and humanitarian aid from 0.29 percent of its GNP in 2022 to 0.33 percent by 2030. The country has responded to crises such as in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as to the food crises in African countries. At the end of July, its government decided to allocate 3.3 million Euro to international humanitarian organisations until 2026.
North Macedonia was also among the first countries that provided military, technical and humanitarian aid to Ukraine after the Russian aggression. In the period from 2022 to February 2024, it delivered twelve aid packages with a total value of 60 million Euro.
The EU has staunchly opposed Russia's war, slapping 14 rounds of unprecedented sanctions on Moscow and giving Ukraine tens of billions of Euro in assistance - not only in the form of military support but also including humanitarian aid.
Calls for increased attention to conflicts in Africa
Even as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza dominate the news, conflicts continue to rage in other parts of the world - such as in regions and countries in Africa.
In May, Abdouraouf Gnon-Konde, an official of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office, stressed the need to take action immediately to address humanitarian crises in the Sahel region or other countries will be drawn in and it will "become a problem for the world".
The official was on a visit to Brussels to urge EU officials to stay focused on the African regions where some 10.5 million people have been displaced by conflict.
The day before, he participated in an EU-hosted donors' conference for the Sahel. At the event, the European Commission pledged 201 million Euro for vulnerable people in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria.
Conflict also rages in the northeastern African country Sudan, which lies south of Egypt. A power struggle between the army and paramilitary militias has been going on since April 2023.
Millions of people are on the run within the country itself or have fled across the borders to neighbouring countries.
Will Carter, the Norwegian Refugee Council's country director in Sudan, said the conference in Brussels was a "genuine attempt to revive the world's efforts" with the funds pledged "desperately needed to save millions of lives".
In April, world donors pledged about two billion Dollars in humanitarian aid for Sudan. French President Emmanuel Macron announced that about 900 million came from the EU and EU countries.
This article is published twice a week. The content is based on news by agencies participating in the enr, in this case AFP, Agerpres, ANSA, dpa, EFE, MIA, and STA.
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