What are humanitarian corridors?
The United Nations considers humanitarian corridors to be one of the many possible forms of temporary cessation of armed conflict.
They are demilitarized zones, in a specific area and for a specific time – both sides of an armed conflict agree with them.
What are they used for?
Through these corridors, either food and medical aid can be transported to conflict areas, or civilians can be evacuated.
Corridors are needed when cities are under siege and the population is cut off from basic food supplies, electricity and water.
In cases where a humanitarian catastrophe unfolds because international law of war is being violated — for example, by large-scale bombing of civilian targets — humanitarian corridors can provide critical relief.
Who sets them up?
In most cases, humanitarian corridors are negotiated by the United Nations. Sometimes they are also created by local groups. As all parties must agree on the construction of the corridors, there is a risk of military or political abuse. For example, corridors can be used to smuggle weapons and fuel into besieged cities.
On the other hand, they can also be used by UN observers, NGOs and journalists to gain access to disputed areas where war crimes are being committed.
What corridors have been created in Ukraine?
In eastern Ukraine, a five-hour ceasefire was to take effect on Saturday, March 5, to allow about 200,000 people from Mariupol and 15,000 people from the city of Volnovakha to flee.
But the initiative failed after a few hours. The Mariupol city administration said the evacuation was “postponed for security reasons” because Russian troops continued to bomb the city and its environs.
According to Reuters, however, Russia said the corridors near Mariupol and Volnovakha had not been used. Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency said “nationalists” had prevented civilians from escaping and that Russian troops had also come under fire during the ceasefire.
Ukraine also said that in the port of Kherson, Russia did not fulfill the promise of a corridor and that 19 vehicles with humanitarian aid were not allowed to pass.
Instead, the Russians themselves planned to send high-profile support to the civilian population, wrote Kherson Mayor Igor Kolykhaiev in a Facebook post: ».
Who has access?
Access to humanitarian corridors is determined by the parties to the conflict. It is usually limited to neutral agents, the UN or humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross. They also determine the duration, the area and which means of transport – trucks, buses or planes – are allowed to use the runway.
In rare cases, humanitarian corridors are organized by only one of the parties to the conflict. This happened to American aviation after the blockade of Berlin by the Soviet Union in 1948-1949.
Where else have they been used?
Humanitarian corridors have been around since the mid-20th century. For example, during the so-called Kindertransport from 1938 to 1939, Jewish children were evacuated to the United Kingdom from Nazi-controlled areas.
Humanitarian corridors were also created during the siege of Sarajevo, Bosnia in 1992-1995 and the evacuation of Guta, Syria in 2018.
However, there are many wars and conflicts where calls for political corridors or a cessation of hostilities have been in vain. In the ongoing war in Yemen, for example, the UN has so far failed in its negotiations.
This article was originally in German
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