(AGENPARL) – Fri 09 May 2025 Logo ICRC EN.jpg      International Committee of the Red Cross
** ICRC President: Respect for international humanitarian law key to breaking vicious cycle of conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
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ICRC – News Release
09 May  2025
Geneva (ICRC)—As conflict rages in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), driving mounting death, injury, and destruction and forcing tens of thousands to flee across borders for safety, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric, called for urgent and concrete action to be taken to uphold international humanitarian law (IHL) and protect civilians from the horrors of war.
“I hope this operation can create momentum for further humanitarian agreements that tangibly reduce suffering,” said President Spoljaric. “The ICRC stands ready to support such agreements as a neutral intermediary.”
During her visit to the region from 6 to 8 May, she met with leaders from both countries, as well as with leadership and volunteers of the Rwanda Red Cross Society and the DRC Red Cross Society.
Ongoing conflict has fuelled a wider crisis in the Great Lakes region with millions of people displaced from their homes within DRC and across its borders. The humanitarian situation in North and South Kivu is particularly dire. Since January 2025, ICRC-supported medical facilities have received over 2,000 wounded patients, the vast majority of whom are civilians.
Hospitals are overwhelmed, and essential services such as water, sanitation, and education are in jeopardy due to widespread infrastructure damage. The threat of explosive weapons and remnants of war in populated areas, widespread food insecurity, and outbreaks of disease further endanger the lives of civilians.
“We must never see this level of suffering as an inevitable consequence of conflict,” said President Spoljaric. “International humanitarian law must be respected to protect civilians and the infrastructure they rely on for their survival. Limiting brutality in war can also help pave the way towards peace.”
About the ICRC
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a neutral, impartial and independent organization with an exclusively humanitarian mandate that stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It helps people around the world affected by armed conflict and other violence, doing everything it can to protect their lives and dignity and to relieve their suffering, often alongside its Red Cross and Red Crescent partners.
** For more information, please contact:
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Public Relations Unit | International Committee of the Red Cross | 19, avenue de la Paix | 1202 Geneva | Switzerland
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ICRC, Avenue de la Paix, 19, Geneva, . 1201 Switzerland