Sergio Cecchini

@MSF Representative to the EU and NATO. Views my own/RT≠endorsement. Migrating to:

[Alberto Alemanno 🇪🇺 @alemannoEU]

The @eu_eeas refused disclosure of the Board of Peace’s Charter and its own legal analysis.

It also implicitly denied the existence of any other relevant documents and exchanges with the Member States.

A confirmatory request is warranted

[MSF International @MSF]

Last night, our hospital in Lankien, South Sudan, was hit in an airstrike by the government of South Sudan forces. One of our colleagues suffered minor injuries, and the hospital’s warehouse was destroyed.

Attacks on hospitals are unacceptable.

https://t.co/mQoEwqHInU

[Jonathan Whittall @_jwhittall]

I was one of the UN staff on the mission to northern #Gaza who reported on the unimaginable death and devastation we saw. @Reuters reports the US embassy blocked a USAID report based on our debriefing while the Biden admin weighed weapons sales. Sickening.
https://t.co/HEB9Jto6Ph

[Kyle Whitmire @WarOnDumb]

When did police start dressing like Fortnite characters? And what is camouflage good for in a city? Dress is a form of speech and we need to pay attention to the message we’re being sent.

[Christiane Amanpour @amanpour]

"This is about the manipulation and the instrumentalization of humanitarian assistance." As Israel orders @MSF to stop operating in Gaza, its head @Chris_lockyear tells me they're seeing "a propaganda campaign against humanitarian organizations... putting our staff and our activities in acute danger."

[UN Human Rights @UNHumanRights]

#WestBank: @UNHumanRights report documents decades of severe racial discrimination by #Israel against Palestinians living in the occupied territories. Warns that Israel is violating intl law requiring States to prohibit & eradicate racial segregation & apartheid.

Report finds there are reasonable grounds to believe the separation, segregation & subordination are intended to be permanent to maintain oppression & domination of Palestinians.

➡️ https://t.co/b0eEO58lBQ

[MSF International @MSF]

This is winter in Gaza. People are facing torrential rain and heavy winds while living in makeshift shelters.

All the while Israel continues to block or delay the entry of vital supplies like tents, tarpaulins, and temporary housing.

Our medical teams are treating respiratory infections, wound complications, skin diseases, and babies suffering from severe cold – linked to these harsh living conditions.

Now, on top of that, Israel is taking steps to stop us and other NGOs from working in Gaza entirely.

This is a cynical attempt to prevent organisations from providing services in Palestine and is in breach of Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law.

[Jonathan Whittall @_jwhittall]

‘Sycophantic diplomacy’ is on the rise: it’s the abandonment of principles to placate #Washington and avoid backlash. But acquiescence enables “#AmericaFirst” to move from a domestic slogan to a global strategy. Events in #Venezuela yesterday are the latest case in point.

In recent weeks, we have seen airstrikes in #Nigeria, now regime change in Venezuela, administrative control of #Gaza on behalf of a state that commits genocide, and sanctions against ICC judges and human rights advocates.

At the same time, the only “refugees” publicly embraced by the US administration are white South Africans, while entire populations facing mass violence are managed through borders, blockades and trusteeship schemes imposed on their behalf.

Racism. Imperialism. Supremacy. These are the words we once used, without hesitation, to describe similar acts carried out historically. Now, our recent experiences of neocolonialism - with its pretexts of legality - is reverting to unbridled colonialism.

We are being gaslit by those who practice the diplomacy of sycophancy. Trump is recast as a peacemaker. His administration is to be thanked, indulged, deferred to, revered.

Today, we see European states and others prioritize alliance management with linguistic gymnastics to accommodate unlawful US actions in Venezuela, while attempting - clumsily - to preserve the legitimacy of their opposition to Russia, a position already hollowed out by their unconditional support for Israel.

From others we hear “concern.” We hear appeals for “restraint.” In this brave new world, peace deals look like pressure without justice. War is celebrated for what it delivers economically. And raw power play is relabeled as diplomacy.

The Global South has always known that equality among nations was conditional. But international law, fragile and limited as it is, gave us tools to push back against total domination. Today, we are watching more nails being hammered into the coffin of multilateralism.

Violations of #InternationalLaw are not new. Impunity is being normalized at an alarming rate. When even genocide slips through the shameless cracks of double standards, it’s clear that we are living in a world no longer beholden to pretenses of a rules based order.

A lawless world, narrated through sycophantic diplomacy, leaves us all exposed. The solution? Coalitions of the willing that demand something simple yet revolutionary: the equal application of international law.

#sycophanticdiplomacy

[MSF International @MSF]

Denying medical assistance is unacceptable under any circumstances.

Israel’s threat to withhold registration from MSF & other INGOs is a cynical and calculated attempt to prevent organisations from providing services in Gaza and the West Bank, Palestine.
https://t.co/Rl1omJAwZF

[MSF International @MSF]

As of 31 December 2025, MSF is still awaiting renewal of its registration to operate in Gaza and the West Bank under new Israeli requirements, including staff lists.
The Palestinian health system is decimated, essential infrastructure is destroyed, and people struggle to meet basic needs. People need more services, not less. If MSF and other INGOs lose access, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be cut off from essential care.
We currently support one in five hospital beds and the delivery of one in three births in Gaza. In 2025 alone, we provided nearly 800,000 outpatient consultations, treated over 100,000 trauma cases, performed 22,700 surgeries, assisted more than 10,000 births, and distributed nearly 700 million litres of water.

[Hadja Lahbib @hadjalahbib]

Israel’s plans to block INGOs in Gaza means blocking life-saving aid.

The EU has been clear: the NGO registration law can not be implemented in its current form. All barriers to humanitarian access must be lifted.

IHL leaves no room for doubt: aid must reach those in need.

[Kajsa Ollongren @KajsaOllongren]

I continue to urge the Israeli authorities to refrain from implementing re-registration. INGOs are a lifeline for Palestinians.

[Sergio Scandura @scandura]

⛔️ "I nuovi pirati". Il tribunale⚖️ di Milano ha condannato Maurizio Belpietro per diffamazione aggravata alle ONG. Risarcimenti per 67mila euro💰: 60mila euro da ripartire alle ONG di mare Open Arms, Emergency, Sea Watch, Sos Mediterranee e Louise Michel; 7mila euro ad AOI Rete Nazionale.

1⃣🔊: sentenza Tribunale (audio Radio Radicale)
2⃣📷: la copertina incriminata
3⃣📄: il comunicato delle ONG
👇
________________________
Il comunicato delle ONG

"Condannato Maurizio Belpietro per diffamazione. Aveva definito le ONG “Pirati”

Open Arms, AOI Rete Nazionale, EMERGENCY e Sea-Watch saranno risarcite. Le ONG: "Soddisfatti dall’esito. È un modo per ristabilire la verità e per dire basta alla criminalizzazione della solidarietà."

Milano, 18.12.2025 -
Maurizio Belpietro dovrà risarcire a titolo di provvisionale con 10.000 euro Open Arms, EMERGENCY e Sea-Watch, Sos mediterranee e Louise Michel, Mediterranea e 7.000 per AOI Rete Nazionale, per aver definito “pirati” gli operatori delle ONG in prima pagina su Panorama. Lo ha stabilito oggi il Tribunale di Milano nell’ambito del procedimento per diffamazione a suo carico.

Belpietro era accusato di omesso controllo, ex art. 57 c.p., per aver acconsentito a definire sulla copertina del settimanale Panorama, nel novembre 2022, che all’epoca dirigeva, “I NUOVI PIRATI” gli operatori umanitari delle ONG

Il procedimento in cui si sono costituite parte civile le ONG Open Arms, AOI – Rete Nazionale, EMERGENCY e Sea-Watch, che avevano ritenuto titolo e immagine pubblicati “non veritieri e offensivi del lavoro umanitario svolto da chi, nel Mediterraneo Centrale, opera per soccorrere vite umane”.

L’esito arriva dopo l’istruttoria dibattimentale di novembre, in cui i rappresentanti delle ONG coinvolte hanno portato la loro testimonianza e hanno spiegato il modus operandi del soccorso civile nel Mediterraneo e le basi giuridiche su cui si poggia, chiarendo di essere sempre stati assolti da accuse di favoreggiamento all'immigrazione clandestina nelle sedi giudiziarie competenti. Nella stessa occasione erano stati ascoltati anche Maurizio Belpietro, Fausto Biloslavo, redattore della rivista, e l’Ammiraglio De Felice.

La decisione delle ONG di procedere con l'esposto era stata presa poiché stanche di una propaganda denigratoria contro chi sceglie di agire al fine di salvare vite, un'azione che non ha niente a che vedere con la pirateria ma è altresì un dovere morale e di legge. Un dovere che va tutelato e non denigrato né criminalizzato. Con il pronunciamento di oggi si ristabiliscono dei principi di civiltà: la solidarietà non è un reato e chi la diffama, chi offende, chi lancia accuse infondate, chi semina odio, va sanzionato e deve pagare un prezzo risarcendo le parti lese."

[Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum]

"In Ukraine, the state itself is investigating the government, the cabinet, even the president’s closest advisers. By contrast, it is impossible to imagine Kash Patel’s FBI investigating anyone in Trump’s White House."
https://t.co/prMS10No4B

[Sergio Cecchini @SergioCecchini]

Grateful to the EU Special Representative for Human Rights @KajsaOllongren for calling on the respect of medical personnel, including Dr Mohammed Obeid, a respected orthopaedic surgeon and long-time @MSF colleague, arrested on 26 October 2024 by Israeli forces and still detained.

[Kajsa Ollongren @KajsaOllongren]

Medical personnel provide indispensable care in times of conflict. In recognition of their crucial role, international law #IHL requires that all parties to a conflict respect and protect them.

[MSF International @MSF]

We’ve re-opened our wound care clinic and resumed clean water distributions in Gaza City, in the north of the Gaza Strip. Our return to Gaza City comes after an initial suspension of activities there at the end of September:

https://t.co/Ee2w2jV3Lp

[Sergio Cecchini @SergioCecchini]

The MSF International President is calling on world leaders to scale up medical evacuations from Gaza urgently.
"We know what delay means for these patients. Between July 2024 and August 2025, at least 740 patients, including 137 children, died while waiting". Will they act?

[Dr Javid Abdelmoneim @MSF_IP]

Many world leaders will get a letter from me today, demanding overdue concrete action to save Palestinian lives.

They must increase the number of medical evacuations from Gaza. Patients with life-threatening conditions cannot wait any longer: https://t.co/Ryyg5eCjDj

[Ryan Rozbiani @RyanRozbiani]

The Weapon Israel Fears the Most

[MSF International @MSF]

Israel is creating difficult conditions for the delivery of safe water to people in Gaza.

🔴 Destroying infrastructure
🔴 Impeding infrastructure repair
🔴 Bombardments near distributions

The details: https://t.co/i7Uax4A02w

[Amnesty International @amnesty]

Israel is carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation in the occupied Gaza Strip, systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life.

Read more 👇 https://t.co/AXZsOKoAFg