Peter Maurer

“Self-reliance is not always possible; we have to acknowledge that there are situations of dramatic crisis which will force us to substitute non-existing public delivery systems.”

“It's one thing if a politician in a small country says a little bit of torturing is good to do. There is a qualitative difference... when it's a candidate to run a superpower.”

“Concrete steps are needed to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in military plans, doctrines, and policies.”

“There is great potential for investments that are built around improving social, environmental, and economic conditions.”

“There is a clear business case for building the resilience and capacity of local communities, businesses, and institutions because a peaceful, educated, and productive population will stimulate economic growth in the long term.”

“We need to understand that the Geneva Conventions are not just some historical documents born of another time, created for another purpose.”

“I think we are challenged in how we define humanitarian action today and how we relate to long-term needs. We are also confronted with legitimate expectations from the people who want us to respond far more thoroughly to their basic pleas than we would have done in a much more contained form of conflict.”

“The disconnect between what people think and what the political leaders are actually doing is something that we really need to start raising.”

“Each day that passes without kids being able to go to school is an enormous burden on the future.”

“The principal cause of suffering during humanitarian crises is insufficient respect of applicable rules of international humanitarian law.”

“Attacks on health facilities, health workers, ambulances, is now a reality that we observe on the ground - not on a monthly but on a daily or weekly scale in most of the conflicts in which we are engaged.”

“Since 1989, public alarm at the prospect of atomic Armageddon has quietened, but the number of nuclear-armed states has increased, arsenals are being modernized, and powerful states remain convinced that a nuclear security umbrella is vital to national defense, domestic prestige, and geopolitical clout.”

“The fragility created by protracted conflicts, resulting in destroyed cities and dramatically insufficient services, is not something that humanitarian organizations can address comprehensively. Only political solutions can end armed conflicts.”

“We live in an environment in which connectivity and cyberspace are transforming all workplaces, including the humanitarian workplace.”

“The abuse of civilians and combatants has existed since the dawn of time.”

“It is very clear from the text of the Geneva Conventions that families have the right to know about the whereabouts of their missing and that belligerents have a duty to inform families if they have indication and if they are detaining people.”

“When millions of kids are missing out on school, delivering educational services becomes an issue that concerns the humanitarian system.”

“Not enough countries, not enough armies, not enough armed groups are abiding by the fundamental human values enshrined in the Geneva Conventions.”

“Until the last nuclear weapon is eliminated, more must also be done to reduce the risk of a detonation. Nuclear-armed states should reduce the number of warheads on high alert and be clearer about the actions they are taking to prevent accidents.”

“Urbanisation, poverty, youth unemployment are leading to violence-prone cities.”