Doha, April 28 (QNA) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) works closely with the State of Qatar to implement humanitarian initiatives in various regions worldwide, said HE ICRC Director-General Pierre Krahenbuhl.

In his speech at the opening of the 2025 Global Security Forum, held under the theme “The Impact of Non-State Actors on Global Security,â€‌ he said that the ICRC worked with the State of Qatar to release hostages in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

The two sides also cooperated to implement humanitarian initiatives and confidence-building measures in both Ukraine and Russia, including the return of civilians and children and their reunification with their families.

He added that the joint work linking Qatar's mediation to resolve and settle conflicts and the ICRC's role as a neutral intermediary has provided access to the concerned parties and contributed to building the trust needed to address critical challenges in the region and the world, representing a strong added value.

Krahenbuhl also stressed the need to respect the rules of international humanitarian law in times of war, noting the launch of a global initiative to mobilize political support for international humanitarian law. آ 

Respecting international rules and laws removes obstacles and facilitates the path to dialogue and reconciliation, he added, emphasizing that every process leading to conflict resolution begins with small humanitarian steps.

He highlighted that the ICRC is present in every conflict environment, and over the past 160 years, it has provided humanitarian services to those affected by conflicts and disputes around the world.

Krahenbuhl noted that ICRC staff work in more than 100 conflict zones around the world, visiting prisoners of war and reuniting civilians in Ukraine and the Russian Federation, providing life-saving medical assistance in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, searching for missing persons in dozens of countries, maintaining water systems that serve millions of Syrians, and participating in high-risk humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. (QNA)