국제적십자, IS와 접촉 시도 “1천만명 도움의 손길 기다려”

* ‘아시아엔’ 연수 외국기자가 작성한 기사의 한글요약본과 원문을 함께 게재합니다.

[아시아엔=라드와 아시라프 기자·번역 최정아 기자] 국제적십자위원회(ICRC)가 이슬람국가(IS), 보코하람 등으로부터 고통받는 사람들에게 인도적 구호지원을 하기 위해, 테러조직들과 접촉을 시도하고 있다고 6일(현지시간) 밝혔다.

이브 다코드 ICRC 사무총장은 “현재 국제적십자위원회는 무장단체와의 접촉을 시도하고 있다”며 “이는 인도주의 측면에서 피해자들을 지원하기 위해서다”라고 말했다. 또한 그는 “현재 IS 영토 내 1천만명의 사람들이 도움의 손길을 필요로 하고 있다”며 “우리가 무장단체와 협상을 벌이지 않는다면, 이들은 전쟁이 끝날 때까지 도움을 받지 못할 것”이라고 덧붙였다.

국제적십자 로버트 마르디니 중동지부장 또한 ‘현재 시리아 인권상황은 재난과 같다’고 강조했다. 마르다니 지부장은 “ICRC의 궁극적 목표는 폭력으로 고통받는 시리아인들을 돕기 위해 다가가는 것”이라며 “이를 위해 누가 됐든지 간에 무장단체들과 대화해야만 한다”고 말했다. 시타라 자빈 적십자 대변인도 프랑스 공영 라디오방송 <RFI>와의 인터뷰에서 “ICRC는 무장단체들이 활동하고 있는 여러 국가들에서 이들과 접촉하고 있다”고 말했다.

한편 국제적십자와 같은 다수의 인도주의 단체들이 무장단체로부터 위협을 받고 있다. 수년간 내전이 계속되고 있는 시리아에서 지난 4년간 적십자 단원 49명이 무장단체에 살해당했다. 이에 대해 다코드 사무총장은 “근래 들어 이렇게 많은 봉사자들이 희생당한 적은 없다”고 말했다.

Red Cross seeking permission to work in ISIS territory

The International Committee of the Red Cross has said it is trying to establish relations with ISIS?in hopes of delivering aid to the 10 million people living under its control as?ICRC Director-General Yves Daccord told AFP in an interview.

“We have a very clear humanitarian vision. First, what we see is 10 million people. Ten million people under the control of the Islamic State group.?We are interested in these 10 million people. What happens to them? What are their problems? This is what will guide us,” he said.

The comments were made ahead of an agency conference in Geneva, held every four years, which gathers some 2,000 ICRC employees and national Red Cross?staffers for talks on the challenges facing humanitarian workers in increasingly complex environments.

The emergence of armed groups which at times disregard the need for life-saving aid is one of the threats facing the ICRC and groups like it, Daccord said.

Organisations seeking to help civilians engulfed by conflict will increasingly need to connect with such groups, regardless of their ideology, he told AFP.?“You don’t build acceptance from Boko Haram or any armed group in Syria in one day. It takes a lot of time and you have to have the right people.”

While the head of Middle East Bureau of Red Cross Robert Mardini told “Asharq Al-Awsat”, “The humanitarian situation in Syria is disastrous and it’s getting worse with each passing day. We should be able to provide the weak with whatever they need.”

The ultimate goal is “to work in close proximity” with those who need help, and to do that, you have to “talk to everybody,” he explained.

Daccord said it took several years of outreach to Boko Haram before the ICRC was able to work in the extremist group’s northeast Nigeria strongholds.?To operate in Boko Haram or IS areas, an organisation must be seen as totally “non-partisan,” he said.

Daccord told AFP it was difficult to compare the current era to past periods in terms of threats facing aid workers.

But he said that in Syria, devastated by a four-year civil war, the Red Cross has suffered unprecedented losses, with 49 volunteers from the Syrian Red Crescent killed.?“We’ve never seen that in our recent history,” Daccord said.

Red Cross workers are also being held hostage in Syria and Yemen, where several other members of the organisation have also been killed.