Dear Mr. Cohen,
I have three responses to your message.
First, the issue of humanitarian standards and compliance with them in
emergency situations IS certainly germane to 'natural hazards and
disaster mitigation'. It is one of the BIGGEST issues there are, as so
much literature and discussion in the profession of 'natural hazards and
disaster mitigation' during the past decade attests. It was this
concern that lead to the creation of the SPHERE standards, for example
(http://www.sphereproject.org/ ).
Second, it my observation during a career in hazard research that spans
36 years that everything having to do with human affairs is necessarily
political, certainly with the small 'p' implied by Aristotle's
definition of human beings as 'political animals'.
Third, the observations by the International Committee of the Red Cross,
and also my comment, are not Political, with a big 'p' -- implying
partisanship. The ICRC is well known as the most neutral and
non-partisan international organization the world has ever seen. They,
and I, abhor ALL violence in Israel/Palestine by all sides. However,
that is not the point of my message. What I am calling to your
attention is the question of the requirements of international law for
maintenance of standards in the treatment of civilians such as those in
the Jenin refugee camp.
Warm regards,
BEN
Dr. Ben Wisner
Oberlin College and London School of Economics
jccpc wrote:
> Dear Mr. Wisner,
>
> I would appreciate this forum being reserved for natural hazards and
> disaster mitigation, not politics.
>
> Thank you.
>
> James Cohen, PE
> James Cohen Consulting, PC
> Pennington, NJ
> http://expertpages.com/jccpc
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