Meeting at an EU Foreign Affairs Council specifically dedicated to development (see EUROPE 13405/7), the European Development Ministers called on the European Union and its Member States, on Tuesday 7 May, to increase funding for operations to protect civilians carried out by humanitarian organisations in the event of armed conflict, in conclusions that they adopted.
According to the ministers, increased financial support is essential to prevent and interrupt cycles of violence through better coordinated humanitarian action.
Furthermore, the ministers stress that the protection of vulnerable civilians must apply to all parties to a conflict, and that it is the responsibility of states to ensure respect for international humanitarian law in all circumstances.
To this end, they are encouraging the funding of analyses to identify protection risks, and encouraging humanitarian actors to base their actions on the principles of the United Nations 2016 Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)’s Protection Policy.
To see the conclusions of the EU ‘Development’ Council: https://aeur.eu/f/c49 (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)