2020 : Humanitarian diplomacy, a privileged tool for mediation, peace and reconstruction.

I wish all of our loyal readers on behalf of the entire Foundation team a happy new year 2020. A year of hope that will hopefully lead us on the paths of peace and reconciliation in look at all the conflicts that affect our world.
In 2019, 165 conflict zones were counted. Whether they are non-state, state, or result from unilateral violence, whatever their nature and intensity, these armed conflicts everywhere lead to violence. From the Central African Republic to Syria, from Yemen to Iraq, via Gaza, civilians are the first victims of the fighting, as are humanitarian workers, taken hostage. The most affected are women and children, while all should be protected by respect for international humanitarian law.

Discreet, active and efficient humanitarian and hospital diplomacy

In most cases, the way out of the crisis depends on the continuity of education, cultural or scientific structures, which can form a kind of shock absorber for the populations, and to accelerate reconstruction. We must invest in it from the start of the crisis, and not wait. Humanitarian diplomacy is therefore a privileged tool for mediation, peace and reconstruction.

Military means alone, such as logistics for the delivery of aid, are no longer sufficient to ensure the long-term success of a military operation or humanitarian action. Humanitarian aid is no longer just a matter of last-minute emergency rescuers. Humanitarian diplomacy is then an instrument that facilitates humanitarian action as a whole by allowing the establishment of food and medical assistance that is permanently available locally. Humanitarian diplomacy is multidisciplinary. It involves doctors, logisticians, lawyers and also specialists in nutrition, weather, hydrology, etc. If it is to be accepted, it must also be multicultural.

Thanks to all of you, the French Foundation of the Order of Malta and the association Order of Malta France largely contribute to this humanitarian and hospital diplomacy, mainly in Africa, Palestine, Lebanon, Vietnam, Cambodia, where they manage hospitals, maternity hospitals, dispensaries, medical-social centers, and regularly send medicines to the main religious congregations which are on the spot.

So this year we will continue to act and serve the poorest and the victims of conflicts on all grounds, tirelessly, while respecting the values and the Christian spirit that inspires us.

Again, I wish you a wonderful year 2020, to you and your loved ones.

Jean Pierre Mazery,
President of the French Foundation of the Order of Malta