(Vatican Radio) Amongst the high profile organizations committed to humanitarian action who are present at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul is the Sovereign Order of Malta, reaffirming its over 900-year old commitment and its present global outreach to those in need.
The Grand Chancellor of the Sovereign Order of Malta Albrecht Boeselager told Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni why he believes the World Humanitarian Summit represents a unique and unprecedented opportunity:
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The Grand Chancellor explains that “First: it’s the first time the UN has called for a World Summit dealing with humanitarian issues as the theme of the conference”.
Second – he goes on to say the Sovereign Order of Malta is extremely concerned that the respect for humanitarian law and humanitarian principle is declining in many regions of the world and he hopes that the summit will help to remind the signatory States of the Convention (and all other actors) that they have to respect the principles of humanitarian law and treat people accordingly.
Thirdly – he says- within this context he believes that religious organizations and faith-based groups have much to contribute as regards peace-making and peace-keeping and this capacity should be remembered, highlighted and used in regions of conflict.
“Many people see different religious or conflicts between religions as one of the major causes of war, which in fact is not true: recent researches have shown that religions are not the cause for conflicts but are very often misused to fuel conflict or to give justification to conflict” he says.
Boeselager says that the engagement and commitment of religious institutions and faith-based organizations is very important, and that the Sovereign Order of Malta firmly believes it would be counter-productive to ignore the fact that they are fundamental in situations of humanitarian assistance and protection.
“90% of the world population belongs to a religion, a religious infrastructure is present in most regions and people have trust in religious leaders in most cases, so it would be stupid not to rely on those infrastructures and to include them in negotiations while distributing humanitarian goods” he says.
He points out that they know what the needs are at all stages: before, during and after crises.
“It’s an infrastructure that is most appropriate to be involved in humanitarian aid” he says.
The Summit is organized around five core commitments and the Sovereign Order of Malta endorses all of them.
Boeselager says of the five the one he feels is most “actual” is the one regarding how we treat refugees and migrants.
“It’s a very hot potato at the moment, there is a lot of disagreement among the different nations but we must uphold the dignity of these people and treat them as children of God” he says.
He says the Sovereign Order of Malta is committed to continue to help migrants and refugees in precarious situations.
The Grand Chancellor points out that the Order has been active in the field of refugees for many decades in different parts of the world.
He says his hope for the outcome of the summit is that “the attention of the world is drawn more intensely to the humanitarian tragedy which is unfolding and that awareness is raised regarding the challenges we are facing”.
He expresses concern in particular for the increasing violations of humanitarian principles which, he points out, in most cases are committed by militant groups which are not State armies and therefore have not signed the humanitarian conventions, but he says “we also see an increasing number of States who are violating the humanitarian principles”.
Boeselager says “We hope that the attention will be drawn to this scandal” and on a more practical level we hope that some burocratic procedures regarding financing and coordinating humanitarian aid will be approved.
The Grand Chancellor concludes speaking of impact of Pope Francis in giving voice to the voiceless, calling for peace, upholding the rights of the most vulnerable:
“I think his position and his voice cannot be overestimated. He is one of the few, if not the only uncompromised authority in this field. So his action and his appeals are of crucial value for all who are active in the field and of course for all the victims”.
To find out more about the commitments and involvement of the Sovreign Order of Malta at the WHS click here.
