Page - 18 - in Friedensgutachten 2020 - Im Schatten der Pandemie: letzte Chance für Europa

↘ SUSPENDING HUMANITARIANISM IS INHUMAN: PROTECT CIVILIANS The coronavirus pandemic is exacerbating existing conflicts worldwide, particularly in the Global South. There is a danger that the spread of COVID-19 could lead to the intensification of international conflicts, further weaken fragile states and, above all, lead to a drastic deterioration in the conditions faced by civilians in warzones and by refugees. Wherever large numbers of people are forced to live in confined areas without adequate sanitation, the virus is likely to spread rapidly, the number of victims will rise, and infrastructures that are already stretched thin may collapse completely. As things stand, Germany and the other EU states are concerned mostly with themselves. Humanitarian initiatives such as the planned intake of child refugees have been shelved for the time being. Yet conflicts such as the civil war in Syria continue unabated. Following concentrated military attacks on the civilian infrastructure in Idlib in March 2020, refu- gees flooded into the Syrian-Turkish border region. At the same time, Turkey increased the pressure of its threats to allow refugees into Greece and hence the EU. The situation in the refugee camps, in Syria, Turkey, and the Greek Aegean islands deteriorated visibly. An outbreak of coronavirus in these camps, including the Moria camp on Lesbos, which was planned to hold 3,000 people but was home to 21,000 in early 2020, could be a humani- tarian catastrophe. Europe should focus on urging the external powers involved in the Syria conflict – Russia, Iran, and Turkey – to conclude a ceasefire that would relieve the situation around Idlib. Given the likelihood of a COVID-19 outbreak in the area it is vital first to ensure the long- term provision of cross-border humanitarian assistance and then to use the threat of coronavirus to seek to bring about a political resolution to the conflict. Similar approaches should be taken with regard to other conflicts, such as in Afghanistan, Somalia, Congo, Yemen, and Mali. The coronavirus crisis also provides an opportunity to take resolute and brave decisions in the name of humanitarianism within Europe’s borders: The provision of large-scale EU assistance to Greece would allow the evacuation of completely overcrowded refugee camps on the Greek islands and the refugees to be brought to safe accommodation on the main- land – with access to healthcare facilities and medical services. At the same time, asylum processing should be rapidly accelerated, and recognized refugees resettled in other EU states. That would not only fulfil the requirements of the Geneva Refugee Convention but would also be in line with Europe’s self-professed political values. After all, “suspended” humanitarianism is simply inhuman. Protect the civilian population in the coronavirus crisis Urge external powers in the Syria conflict to adopt a ceasefire Evacuate the refugee camps in Greece 2020 / In the Shadow of the Pandemic: Europe’s Last Chance / STATEMENT 18