“We are not sure whether words always save lives, but we do know for sure that silence kills”. With this phrase, the international president of Médecins Sans Frontières, James Orbinski, summarised the essence of our testimony. He did so during his speech when accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, one of the occasions when MSF has raised its voice to speak out about the abuses it has witnessed.

By providing direct action, MSF witnesses people’s suffering for whom it looks after on a daily basis. For that reason, it can publicly expose those who cause the crises and can be held accountable for them, those who have an influence on them, and those who are initially responsible for responding yet fail to do so.

‘From action to words’ is the history of MSF’s evidence, from its origins in the Biafra war to the current crises in Syria, Yemen and the Mediterranean, via Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Chechnya and Afghanistan (and other non-violence related disasters such as Haiti’s tsunami and earthquake).