World Vision advocates for urgent ceasefire
They called for an immediate cease-fire to allow unrestricted humanitarian access to devastated areas and displaced civilians within the war-torn country.
“We have 121 staff in Lebanon, yet our resources are not nearly enough to respond to this crisis,” World Vision Lebanon spokesperson Ruba Khoury told the gathering of reporters at the news conference that was jointly convened by Oxfam, Christian Aid, Save the Children, Islamic Relief and World Vision.
“When the war started we managed to go to Bint Jbeil [a now isolated community near the southern Lebanese border]. We delivered food then and we are ready to provide aid now, but our trucks can no longer reach Bint Jbeil and many other areas because of the current security situation. So there\'s nothing we can do to help," Khoury said.
We have 121 staff in Lebanon, yet our resources are not nearly enough to respond to this crisis Journalists from the BBC, Associated Press, Sky News and other international media organisations were told by Khoury and other NGO representatives that a cessation of current hostilities must be followed by determined negotiations on the part of the United Nations and the international community to achieve a peaceful end to this mounting crisis.
“We are committed to helping those in need, but humanitarian access is very limited due to the conflict and lack of infrastructure,” said WV Lebanon Programme Manager Khoury. “Humanitarian needs here in Lebanon currently far surpass our imperative and capacity to respond to them. We are therefore asking for a real humanitarian corridor to be opened so that we can provide aid to those areas where it is most needed.”
The Beirut news conference preceded by just a few hours a second news conference convened by World Vision US, CARE and Mercy Corps at the National Press Club in Washington DC., on Thursday afternoon.
Serge Duss, WVUS Senior Advisor for Global Affairs, emphasised many of the same points that were advocated by Khoury in Beirut, while calling upon all parties engaged in the conflict to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to ensure that civilians are protected in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention.
We are committed to helping those in need, but humanitarian access is very limited due to the conflict and lack of infrastructure Khoury concluded her statement to Beirut-based journalists with a heartfelt plea to remember the children of Lebanon.
“Yesterday I was visiting a child in one of our Beirut projects who is six months old, has had open heart surgery and is now living with 20 other internally displaced families in a school which isn’t even adequate to receive 10 families.” Khoury said. “The international community must surely understand that all children are equal and that they are not responsible for this conflict. We therefore are insisting that the rights of the children of Lebanon be respected and protected.”
“We have 121 staff in Lebanon, yet our resources are not nearly enough to respond to this crisis,” World Vision Lebanon spokesperson Ruba Khoury told the gathering of reporters at the news conference that was jointly convened by Oxfam, Christian Aid, Save the Children, Islamic Relief and World Vision.
“When the war started we managed to go to Bint Jbeil [a now isolated community near the southern Lebanese border]. We delivered food then and we are ready to provide aid now, but our trucks can no longer reach Bint Jbeil and many other areas because of the current security situation. So there\'s nothing we can do to help," Khoury said.
We have 121 staff in Lebanon, yet our resources are not nearly enough to respond to this crisis Journalists from the BBC, Associated Press, Sky News and other international media organisations were told by Khoury and other NGO representatives that a cessation of current hostilities must be followed by determined negotiations on the part of the United Nations and the international community to achieve a peaceful end to this mounting crisis.
“We are committed to helping those in need, but humanitarian access is very limited due to the conflict and lack of infrastructure,” said WV Lebanon Programme Manager Khoury. “Humanitarian needs here in Lebanon currently far surpass our imperative and capacity to respond to them. We are therefore asking for a real humanitarian corridor to be opened so that we can provide aid to those areas where it is most needed.”
The Beirut news conference preceded by just a few hours a second news conference convened by World Vision US, CARE and Mercy Corps at the National Press Club in Washington DC., on Thursday afternoon.
Serge Duss, WVUS Senior Advisor for Global Affairs, emphasised many of the same points that were advocated by Khoury in Beirut, while calling upon all parties engaged in the conflict to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to ensure that civilians are protected in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention.
We are committed to helping those in need, but humanitarian access is very limited due to the conflict and lack of infrastructure Khoury concluded her statement to Beirut-based journalists with a heartfelt plea to remember the children of Lebanon.
“Yesterday I was visiting a child in one of our Beirut projects who is six months old, has had open heart surgery and is now living with 20 other internally displaced families in a school which isn’t even adequate to receive 10 families.” Khoury said. “The international community must surely understand that all children are equal and that they are not responsible for this conflict. We therefore are insisting that the rights of the children of Lebanon be respected and protected.”
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