Chapter 3: Rights and responsibilities
ACTIVITY: COLLECTING WOUNDED PEOPLE IN NEED
How would you react?
I would insist on our right to search for and collect the wounded and on being granted access notwithstanding the precarious security conditions.
I would insist that they provide assistance themselves.
Incorrect answer!
By doing so, you would be putting the crew at risk. Although the situation is very urgent, the authorities have a right to stop you for security reasons. Instead, you should remind the authorities of their legal obligations: all parties to a conflict must take all possible measures to search for, collect and evacuate the wounded and the sick.
Correct answer!
By doing so, you would not be putting the crew at risk, and despite the urgency of the situation, you would be heeding the authorities’ concern about lack of security. In this case, reminding the authorities of their legal obligations is perhaps the best choice: all parties to a conflict must take all possible measures to search for, collect and evacuate the wounded and the sick.