- Title: 'Humanitarian landscape' facing major shifts in years to come: Red Cross chief
- Date: 14th April 2025
- Summary: 'Humanitarian landscape' facing major shifts in years to come: Red Cross chief SHOTLIST: - ANTALYA, TÜRKİYE (APRIL 14, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL) 1. GAZA EXHIBITION AND ANADOLU AGENCY BOOTH 2. SPECIAL INTERVIEW WITH ICRC DIRECTOR-GENERAL PIERRE KRAHENBUHL ANADOLU SCRIPT: The global humanitarian landscape is undergoing significant change, and the way it is organized will not look the same in the years to come, according to the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). As the US pulls back its involvement in major relief efforts worldwide under the administration of President Donald Trump, this has led to a search for new partnerships. Last month, Washington announced sweeping cuts to foreign aid, canceling 83% of its programs — a move that has disrupted the broader humanitarian ecosystem. According to ICRC Director-General Pierre Krahenbuhl, current trends “will change the way the humanitarian landscape is organized, certainly in years to come.” Speaking to Anadolu during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2025 in the Turkish resort city, Krahenbuhl said Washington “has historically been a very important and very generous donor to international organizations,” noting that US contributions account for 25% of the ICRC’s expenditures. While in contact with US officials to “understand the decisions that are being made,” the ICRC is simultaneously seeking to strengthen partnerships with other countries, including Türkiye, across Asia and among the Gulf nations, Krahenbuhl said at the event, where Anadolu was the global communications partner. “And here is also the importance of partnering with different countries … It is part of the transforming world around us, and we want to connect with many new realities, with important voices, new perspectives.” He expressed appreciation for the Turkish Red Crescent, citing its “trust” in the ICRC. “We have great respect for the work it is carrying out,” he added. - Talk of reconstruction ‘almost unfathomable’ in ‘hell-on-earth’ Gaza Krahenbuhl deplored the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the Gaza Strip, where more than 50,800 Palestinians have been killed in a relentless Israeli military campaign since October 2023, describing the enclave as “today’s hell on Earth.” The scale of destruction caused by the ongoing Israeli assault, he said, is “on a scale that we have rarely seen as humanitarians.” He stressed that such devastation has been allowed to continue due to a failure of global action — a crisis that has not spared humanitarian organizations. The ICRC’s own offices in Gaza were struck by direct Israeli tank fire last month, Krahenbuhl noted, adding that “colleagues of the Palestinian Red Crescent have been killed in unacceptable, brutal ways during their humanitarian engagement.” “To speak of reconstruction at this moment seems almost unfathomable,” he said. “I think it requires a global mobilization to bring about an end to this horror.” - ICRC remains active in Syria, DR Congo Praising the ICRC’s partnership with the Turkish Red Crescent, Krahenbuhl said the group continues long-standing operations in Syria, where it is currently focusing on missing persons and critical infrastructure, including water and electricity systems. “The country is currently without access to safe water or to electricity,” he said. He also commended the “remarkably courageous” efforts of Congolese Red Cross workers operating in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to assist populations affected by ongoing conflict — especially those injured or separated from their families during clashes. Reflecting on the toll of protracted wars from Gaza to Congo, Krahenbuhl added: “If what we are seeing in the Gaza Strip is the future of war, we should be all very concerned, terrified and actually understand that this would shake the very foundations of our humanity. We have to remobilize around the deep protection and preservation of human dignity.”
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