Jan Egeland

“Humanitarian aid is not a substitute for political solutions.”

“No one is a refugee by choice. But the rest of us can have a choice - to help.”

“The problem is not that we do not have the resources to help. The problem is a lack of political will.”

“We are failing to protect civilians because there is a total lack of accountability for war criminals.”

“The world is not a la carte. You can’t take what is good and leave the rest.”

“Civilians are not a target. Hospitals are not a target. Schools are not a target. Aid workers are not a target.”

“A civilian is a civilian is a civilian.”

“We cannot have a world where the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”

“The greatest scandal is what we call 'normal'. The daily preventable deaths, the hunger, the misery.”

“Diplomacy without humanitarian action is cynical, but humanitarian action without diplomacy is naive.”

“Armed conflict is the biggest cause of human suffering and the biggest obstacle to development.”

“It's a disgrace for humanity that we are not able to protect the most vulnerable.”