China: Briefing for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on principled humanitarian action

The SCO Secretary-General, His Excellency Nurlan Yermekbayev, noted in his opening remarks that the SCO member states remain deeply concerned by the escalation of conflicts that lead to catastrophic humanitarian situations and stressed the necessity of ensuring immediate, complete, and sustainable ceasefires where conflicts persist, alongside unimpeded access to humanitarian aid.

The Personal Envoy of the President and Head of ICRC’s Regional Delegation for East Asia, Balthasar Staehelin, thanked the SCO secretariat and the member States for their interest in addressing the growing humanitarian crises in the region and beyond. According to Mr Staehelin, this briefing is taking place at a time of profound transformation and uncertainty in the global geopolitical landscape. Humanitarian needs have reached historic levels, while access for humanitarian actors is increasingly constrained by insecurity, politicisation, and erosion of respect for international humanitarian law (IHL).