Posted on 3 May, 2016
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Last Wednesday, airstrikes obliterated Al Quds Hospital in Aleppo.
They blew apart at least 50 men, women and children.
It killed one of the last remaining pediatricians in the city.
A murderous airstrike.
We are facing an epidemic of attacks on health facilities, impeding our ability to do our core work.
And to date, our calls for independent investigations have gone unheeded.
Accountability begins with independent and impartial fact finding.
Perpetrators cannot be investigators, judges and juries.
Make no mistake: we will relentlessly denounce attacks on healthcare.
We will speak out loudly and with force about what we witness in the field.
Medicine must not be a deadly occupation. Patients must not be attacked or slaughtered in their beds.
Re-commit, unambiguously, to the norms that govern the conduct of war.
This resolution must lead to all states and non-state actors stopping the carnage.
You must also pressure your allies to end attacks on healthcare and populations in conflict areas.
We will not leave patients behind. And we will not be silent.
Seeking or providing healthcare must not be a death sentence.
You will be judged not on your words today, but on your actions. Your work has only begun.
Make this resolution save lives.
While the nature of warfare may have changed, the rules of war have not.
You are charged with protecting peace and security.
You therefore must live up to your extraordinary responsibilities, and set an example for all states.