Vatican calls for compliance with international law

According to Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, the Holy See is deeply concerned about the increasing number of wars worldwide and the severity of violence. "It seems that 75 years after the ratification of the Geneva Conventions, international humanitarian law is still being undermined," he criticised in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Saturday.

The conflicts led to a significant loss of innocent lives and damage to civilian infrastructure, including places of worship, educational institutions and medical facilities. Merely pointing out violations is not enough, however. It is about preventing them, said the number two in the Vatican, quoting Pope Francis.

The Russian war in Ukraine, for example, requires urgent action to prevent an escalation and pave the way for a just and peaceful solution. The Holy See is also calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the West Bank and the release of the Israeli hostages. The only practicable solution is a two-state solution with a special status for Jerusalem.

Striving for constructive cooperation

Parolin also recalled the war in Sudan, conflicts in South Sudan, Mozambique and Haiti as well as the political crisis in Venezuela. Parolin went on to say that 450 armed groups around the world represented a security risk. Non-state actors controlled territories in which 195 million people lived. "It is imperative that violent non-state actors seek constructive cooperation with states, renounce violence and acts of terrorism and enter into legality."

At the same time, states have a responsibility and must promote human rights and the rule of law so that such groups do not emerge in the first place. Above all, hunger, "a scourge that still ravages entire areas of our world", must be eradicated. In the past, however, there were other priorities. In recent years, the prevailing tendency has been to maintain the growth of military spending.

The Cardinal Secretary of State also recalled the Pope's appeal to rich countries. They must recognise the gravity of so many of their past decisions and decide to cancel the debts of countries that will never be able to repay them. This is more than a question of generosity, it is a question of justice. There is also an "ecological debt", particularly between the North and the South of the world. It is linked to the disproportionate use of natural resources by certain countries over long periods of time. The poor are almost always the victims, emphasised Parolin. (KNA)