We share a statement from the leaders of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee that includes the networks of which INTERSOS is a member*<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As humanitarian leaders, our position is clear: We will not participate in the establishment of any \u201dsafe zone\u201d in Gaza that is set up without the agreement of all the parties, and unless fundamental conditions are in place to ensure safety and other essential needs are met and a mechanism is in place to supervise its implementation.<\/p>\n Under the prevalent conditions, proposals to unilaterally create \u201csafe zones\u201d in Gaza risk creating harm for civilians<\/strong>, including large-scale loss of life, and must be rejected. Without the right conditions, concentrating civilians in such zones in the context of active hostilities can raise the risk of attack and additional harm. No \u201csafe zone\u201d is truly safe when it is declared unilaterally or enforced by the presence of armed forces.<\/p>\n Any discussions around \u201csafe zones\u201d must not detract from the parties\u2019 obligation to take constant care to spare civilians \u2013 wherever they are \u2013 and meet their essential needs, including by facilitating rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all civilians in need.<\/p>\n Intense hostilities and large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure have driven the mass displacement of civilians. Almost 1.6 million people are currently displaced in Gaza. The civilian population in Gaza must have access to the essentials for survival<\/strong>, including food, water, shelter, hygiene, health, assistance, and safety.\u00a0Humanitarian organizations must have access to fuel in sufficient quantities to deliver aid and provide basic services. We remain committed to the assistance and protection of civilians and other protected persons, wherever they are. Humanitarian relief personnel must be ensured the freedom of movement essential to carry out their functions subject to the requirements under international humanitarian law.<\/p>\n None of the humanitarian organizations we represent has been involved in preparing for the arrival of displaced people in any prospective \u201csafe zone\u201d \u2013 or \u201chumanitarian zone\u201d \u2013 in Gaza.<\/p>\n A \u201csafe zone\u201d is a temporary area that aims to keep civilians safe, protected, and spared from hostilities<\/strong>. The following conditions must be in place for all displaced people in a \u201csafe zone\u201d:<\/p>\n Failure to meet these basic conditions may constitute a breach of international humanitarian and human rights law.<\/p>\n We also renew our call for a humanitarian ceasefire to ease the suffering and to help facilitate humanitarian operations and the release of all hostages.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *The document is signed by:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Creating “safe zones” must meet mandatory conditions: the agreement of all parties, provision of the essentials for survival, and allowing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":100945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-non-categorizzato"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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