FRANCE 24 spoke to David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC). According to the group’s annual watchlist of global humanitarian crises, some 10 percent of people in humanitarian need around the world are in Sudan, which has been plagued by a brutal civil war since April 2023. “It’s not just the largest humanitarian catastrophe today, it’s the largest humanitarian catastrophe in history,” Miliband warned. He called for crossing points to be opened up to aid and for the powers arming both sides in the conflict to cease doing so.
Another major humanitarian crisis is that of Syria. More than a decade of war has led to the displacement of six million Syrian refugees worldwide. After the fall of the Assad regime, some observers fear that many Syrian refugees could face expulsion, not only from neighbouring countries but also from European nations, which have been quick to suspend asylum procedures.
“It’s very important that return is voluntary. We don’t want to get into a deportation situation,” Miliband said.
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In northwestern Syria’s Idlib province, the International Rescue Committee has been providing humanitarian assistance to those in need for the past 13 years. The region has been controlled for the past seven years by the Islamist rebels Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), who have now become the de facto leadership of Syria.
Asked about the IRC’s experience in Idlib province, Miliband said: “We were able to get on with our work in a reasonable way. We were not told which clients to serve and which clients not to serve. Our money and our goods and our aid was able to find its way to people who needed it. It wasn’t diverted.”
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