Xavier Emmanuelli in 2007 | © CC BY-SA 2.0
Xavier Emmanuelli was one of the fathers of humanitarianism at the end of the20thcentury, one of those "French Doctors" who, as soon as they finished their studies, fought on the ground against the worst human injustices.
Handicap International pays tribute to the memory of this man of humanist vision and unwavering commitment, and offers its sincere condolences to his loved ones.
Two former figures from Handicap International have sent us a few words to pay tribute to him following his death on 16 November 2025.
Philippe Chabasse, former co-director of Handicap International and coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines:
"I first met Xavier Emmanuelli in 1981 in Bangkok. As a young coordinator of the Médecins Sans Frontières programme for Cambodian and Laotian refugees, I was impressed to welcome this important figure, co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières ten years earlier. What struck me immediately was his ability to establish an immediate, very personal, direct and genuine rapport. There was no hierarchy, no difference in age or experience, just a relationship between equals.
Fifteen years later, he had made the ban on anti-personnel mines one of his ministerial priorities. It was he who convinced Jacques Chirac of the rightness of banning these "weapons from another age". He was the one who called me one evening in March 1995 to announce that he had secured a ban on the manufacture of mines by France. He was the one who fought for our country to join the Ottawa process. We then regularly crossed paths on more domestic issues, such as poor housing and ageing.
Over the years, I came to understand that this relationship was based on deep respect, but above all on trust. Trust in the accuracy of his intuitions, his analyses and his struggles. Xavier was a deeply human being with his enthusiasms, his moments of deep depression and his masterful anger. He was a personality who will be sorely missed at a time when many of the ethical and political landmarks that shaped our generation are gradually being dismantled."
Élysée Palace, September 1998. Around President Jacques Chirac, from left to right: Philippe Chabasse, Xavier Emmanuelli, Patrick Segal (in a wheelchair), his wife Hélène and his son Victor, Susan Walker and Jean-BaptisteRichardier.
© Presidency of the Republic, 26 September 1998
Jean-Baptiste Richardier, co-founder of Handicap International and former Director General of the association:
"When it came to fraternity and the fight against injustice, Xavier Emmanuelli hated nothing more than lukewarmness! A tireless fighter against inhumanity in all its forms, his taste for a good fight turned to infinite tenderness when he came into contact with the wounds of life, those of his patients, the prisoners of Fleury-Mérogis, the homeless and migrants. The founding of MSF simply allowed him to extend the focus of his inexhaustible concern to all the forgotten people of the earth. Obviously, the fledgling association Handicap International could only get along well with a man of this calibre!
As a young doctor in Thailand, my first encounter with Xavier Emmanuelli dates back to February 1980 during the "March for the Survival of Cambodia". My wife Marie, who was working as a logistician for Médecins Sans Frontières in the refugee camps on the Thai border at the time, was tasked with organising accommodation for the 150 participants, who were determined to bear witness to the Vietnamese blockade of aid.
Another striking memory is the desperate call for help he made from the highlands of Anatolia, vehemently denouncing the international community's inertia in the face of the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Kurds, caught between Iraq and Turkey and massacred by Saddam Hussein.
My fondest memory will remain that of our first meeting, which sealed my determination never to accept the various faces of inhumanity. We will miss his voice and his anger!"
In his preface to the magnificent album "ESPOIR", a collection of photographs taken by four renowned reporters on the association's actions, Xavier Emmanuelli wrote this beautiful text for Handicap International 30 years ago, which we reproduce here:
"A certain idea of humanitarian aid.
Saturated with images, tossed from one continent to another by tragic events, forced to believe in a partial – and therefore biased – analysis of events, public opinion, in turn, is either enthusiastic about humanitarian action or denigrates its actors.
Handicap International is one of those organisations that work in difficult conditions, at the heart of misfortune, and change people's destinies.
While its volunteers are driven by enthusiasm for their work, they are above all men and women who, in addition to compassion and dedication, have the technical knowledge and training that make them unique. They carry out field operations that are aimed not at crowds but at individuals, at each person as an individual, to enable them, after they have been weakened, injured or maimed, to resume their place in everyday life; that life made up of little things, of everyday acts, which had been stolen from them.
Their technical skills and experience help people get back on their feet and give children back their future, without any commercial exchange, in the name of dignity and solidarity.
These are the values that Handicap International stands for, the kind of values that allow us to keep hope alive."
Xavier Emmanuelli – February 1995
