"This incident is a violation of basic humanitarian principles; all sick and wounded have the right to medical care," said Philippe Havet, the head of the group's local mission.
Schools are zones of peace where children must be allowed to play and learn in safety and security, and violations of this sort undermine the basic humanitarian principles which all cultures, religions and governments agree upon, and further escalates the spiral of violence in Iraq.
To prove to Assad that he will be held accountable, and to prevent him from carrying out mass murder through any means, it is long past time for the Trump administration to deem those actions equally unacceptable, and to ensure that any action taken is part of a coherent and consistent strategy that takes into account both U.S. national security interests and basic humanitarian principles.
Finally, UNICEF's presence and activities in asylum countries including Montenegro, Kosovo and other areas of Serbia/FRY, underline the importance of adhering to basic humanitarian principles as established under international humanitarian, refugee and human rights law (e.g. that victims shall be assisted and protected irrespective of any political consideration).
Reaching a just and comprehensive settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict is feasible, but difficult, so tiptoeing around the big issues is pointless: sooner or later, they must be faced, and international law (in addition to basic humanitarian principles) must be applied without exception.
We need to ensure that countries who enact basic humanitarian principles by receiving significant numbers of refugees, as illustrated by Dadaab, can give those refugees access to education and jobs, so that their lives are not merely put on hold for years on end.
