Red Cross president says humanitarian aid to North Korea is separate from political situation

Posted on : 2018-06-05 17:25 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
ICRC’s Peter Maurer asks that sanctions negatively impacting average North Koreans be lifted
International Committee of the Red Cross president Peter Maurer. (photo by Noh Ji-won
International Committee of the Red Cross president Peter Maurer. (photo by Noh Ji-won

“Humanitarian aid [to North Korea] needs to be provided without conditions, divided family reunions included.”

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) president Peter Maurer, 62, stressed the need for humanitarian efforts to proceed independently from the political situation. His remarks came during an interview with the South Korean press at a hotel in Seoul’s Myeong-dong neighborhood on the morning of June 4.

The South Korean government announced in Sept. 2017 that it would provide US$8 million to North Korea through international organizations working on humanitarian efforts for small children, pregnant mothers, and other vulnerable groups. At the time, the Ministry of Unification said it was “the government’s principle” that humanitarian aid to the North would “be pursued continuously regardless of the political and military situation.” It’s a promise that went unkept for the next eight months.

During his South Korea visit, Maurer plans to meet with Minister of Unification Cho Myung-gyon and “tell him that humanitarian aid needs to be provided as soon as possible, that it would already have been provided,” he said.

“Solutions to humanitarian issues need to be achieved at their own pace. There are serious humanitarian issues on the Korean Peninsula,” he added.

Over the past few years, international sanctions on the North Korean economy have intensified amid the North’s nuclear tests. Speaking on recent changes in the political situation, Maurer said, “I’d like to ask first that sanctions that have a negative impact on North Korean residents be lifted as soon as possible.”

“Small things can have a negative impact on the North Korean humanitarian situation. Areas that are directly related to basic livelihoods, water hygiene, public health, and food should not be included in economic sanctions,” he said.

Maurer went on to say that “the sanction areas with the largest impact are related to machinery imports.”

“Due to these scenarios, constraints arise in terms of potable water, public health facility, medications, and healthcare equipment production. Sanctions should not be applied in these areas,” he argued.

Maurer also said the ICRC could play a role in a reunion of divided family members for the National Liberation Day holiday on Aug. 15 as agreed upon by the South and North Korean leaders in their Apr. 27 Panmunjeom Declaration.

“We have a lot of experience with reunions for divided families. We have abundant experience with psychological and social support for separated family members,” he said.

“In many cases, family members experience emotional turmoil when meeting after a long separation. We will provide support with that,” he pledged.

On North Korea’s demands for the return of employees who defected en masse from the Ryukyong Restaurant in China, Maurer said the issue “lies at the intersection of political and humanitarian issues.”

“The ICRC is prepared to offer assistance,” he affirmed. “I believe we can provide help with an objective decision in terms of where the employees want to go.”

A former Swiss diplomat, Maurer served as Switzerland’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in 2010 and has been president of the ICRC since July 2012. Established in 1863, the ICRC opened an office in Pyongyang in 2002 and is involved in rehabilitation therapy and orthopedic treatment, among other areas. Fifteen local staffers assigned by the North Korean Red Cross work in the office alongside six international staffers.

By Noh Ji-won, staff reporter

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