Amid the dramatically escalating situation in the Middle East, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, has issued an urgent warning - using words that are rarely heard so clearly and unequivocally in international discourse: "The world cannot absorb limitless war." It is an appeal to reason in a time when reason has become the exception. It is a reminder that wars are not only decided by rockets and military strategies, but above all by their impact on human lives, societies, and the foundations of our coexistence. Spoljaric warned that the current escalation has the potential to "engulf the region - and the world - in a war with irreversible consequences." This is more than diplomatic alarmism. It is the assessment of an institution whose neutrality is unquestioned and whose daily work is to alleviate human suffering in war zones. When the Red Cross speaks, it does not do so with political intentions - but from direct experience with the victims of violence, displacement, and systematic destruction.
Spoljaric formulated the obligation to uphold international humanitarian law particularly sharply: "Upholding international humanitarian law is not a choice - it is an obligation." In a world where states are increasingly placing the law of the strong above the rule of law itself, this sentence sounds almost like something from another era - and yet it is more relevant than ever. Especially in asymmetric conflicts, such as those we see today between Israel, Iran, and regional proxy forces, the rules of war are all too often eroded. Civilian infrastructure is bombed, humanitarian corridors are blocked, and the suffering of innocents is weaponized for political gain. The Red Cross's warning is not just a warning - it is also a moral litmus test.
The question it implicitly poses is this: Are we willing to accept that the world is slipping back into a state where war is once again considered a legitimate tool of politics - without regard for civilian casualties, international norms, or the consequences for future generations? Or will we recognize at the last moment that there can be no victors in a war without limits - only losers whose voices may one day be too faint to be heard? The words of Mirjana Spoljaric are therefore not a commentary on current events, but a call to the international community to pause, to take responsibility - and not to tear the final thread that still binds us to a shared, humane order.
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