Beirut – The President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, raised the level of demands for the protection of paramedics and medical and humanitarian personnel, stressing that international humanitarian law imposes clear obligations on all parties to the conflict, stressing that “even war has rules” and that Israel “is no exception.” This came in a firm message issued by President Aoun from the podium of the twelfth Regional Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in the Middle East and North Africa.
In his speech during the opening of the conference, President Aoun considered that protecting workers in the humanitarian sector, ensuring their safe access to those in need, and respecting the Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems, “is not a matter of choice,” but rather a binding legal and humanitarian duty, adding decisively: “The paramedic must not himself become a target.”
Aoun recalled with sorrow the dozens of victims the Society lost while carrying out their noble mission, specifically Youssef Raymond Assaf and Hassan Ali Badawi, who were martyred as a result of the recent Israeli attacks while carrying out their humanitarian duty, in addition to the injury of 13 Red Cross paramedics and volunteers.
The Lebanese President stopped at the difficult stages that the Red Cross went through alongside the Lebanese, starting with the Corona pandemic and the August 4 explosion, through the years of economic collapse, all the way to the current war, praising the insistence of his teams to penetrate dangerous areas to secure aid and relief for tens of thousands of cases.
Aoun explained that the tasks of the Red Cross today go beyond emergency response, to include delivering aid to hot spots, contributing to the prisoners’ file, and coordinating ambulance and rescue operations in cooperation with the Lebanese Army, UNIFIL forces, and the mechanism to monitor the cessation of hostilities.
In a related context, the President of the Republic believed that the most prominent achievement of the Lebanese Red Cross lies in the balance of trust it has built among citizens, stressing that seeing the red badge means for the citizen the arrival of relief, regardless of geography, sect, or affiliation, stressing that this trust was achieved “through work, neutrality, competence, and sacrifice,” to constitute a model for the institutions to which Lebanon aspires.
He pointed out that the association provides more than a million various services annually to the Lebanese and residents, including ambulance, emergency, blood bank, primary health care, relief, psychological support, and family reunification. He paid tribute to the paramedics and volunteers by saying that what they perform as a routine task represents for the injured person “all the remaining hope.”
At the conclusion of his speech, Aoun stressed that expressions of gratitude alone are not enough, declaring that the state’s duty imposes protecting the Red Cross’s message, supporting its capabilities, and preserving the continuity of its services and the culture of volunteerism. He also appealed to the Lebanese, the international community and Lebanon’s partners, saying: “Stand by the Lebanese Red Cross, as it is always by your side.”
It should be noted that Lebanon is hosting the twelfth regional conference for the Middle East and North Africa region on September 25 and 26, with broad participation that includes presidents and secretaries-general of national societies in the region, and representatives of the International Federation, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the movement’s partners, with the aim of discussing humanitarian priorities, regional challenges, and enhancing joint coordination.
