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UN SC express deepest concern at continued civilian suffering during conflict, condemns all violations of humanitarian law threatening non-combatants

Attachments

SC/9340

Security Council
5898th Meeting (AM & PM)

Presidential Statement on Civilian Protection Follows Day-Long Debate; Emergency Relief Coordinator Supports Creation of Informal Expert Group on Issue

Expressing its deepest concern that civilians continued to suffer the brunt of the violence during armed conflicts, the Security Council this afternoon condemned all violations of international law that threatened non-combatants and reaffirmed the responsibility of States and other parties of conflicts to protect them.

In a statement read by Council President John Sawers of the United Kingdom at the end of a day-long debate on protection of civilians, the Council also re?emphasized the importance of prosecuting those responsible for war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law. In addition, it underlined the importance of safe and unhindered access of humanitarian personnel to provide assistance to civilians caught up in armed conflict.

The mural on the wall of the Security Council Chamber by Norwegian artist Per Krogh served as a vivid reminder that millions of ordinary people were still trapped in the horror of war and conflict, hoping desperately to rise from the chaos that still surrounded them, said John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, who opened today's debate by emphasizing that protection of civilians was central to the Council's work. He supported the forming of an informal expert group, attached to the Council, which would focus on the subject.

Vital progress had been made in the nine years since the Council first considered the item, he said. There was an increased awareness among Member States of the issues involved, and four thematic resolutions on civilian protection had established an ambitious framework for action. The challenge now was to realize that ambition and ensure the systematic consideration of protection issues in the Council's work.

Addressing any Council members that might have reservations about the expert group, he said that the proposal was not for a subsidiary body with the bureaucratic and resource issues which that implied. Rather, what was envisaged was an informal forum that would bring together all of the Council member States at the expert level for transparent, systematic and timely consultation on protection of civilians, particularly, but not only, in the context of the establishment or renewal of peacekeeping mandates.

Mr. Holmes also gave a brief survey of crisis situations in which civilians were at risk. In Kenya, Côte d'Ivoire, Nepal, Timor-Leste and, in a more fragile way, Uganda, violence had subsided. At the same time, recent upsurges of violence in recovering areas like Burundi and Southern Sudan were of great concern. The full deployment of peacekeepers in Chad, the Central African Republic and Darfur had the potential to significantly augment efforts to protect and assist those caught in the turmoil in the region, he said. However, it was essential that those missions be given the requisite support and resources to fulfil their mandates.

There was also the potential for notable progress towards improved protection for civilians from the devastating impact of cluster munitions, he said, urging States to seize the historic opportunity posed by the 100 States currently gathered in Dublin to conclude a treaty that had the protection of civilians at its core.

He noted continued havoc in Darfur, Somalia, southern Israel, Gaza, Colombia and Sri Lanka. In Afghanistan and Iraq, civilians remained victims of suicide attacks as well as aerial bombardments and search operations against anti-Government elements. There were difficulties in conducting those operations, but, nonetheless, any military response to insurgent attacks must itself comply with international humanitarian law.

He called for concerted action against sexual violence, which continued to ravage the women of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Côte d'Ivoire, among other places. Finally, he said that humanitarian access was crucial for the protection of civilians, describing differing manifestations of the problem in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Darfur, Somalia and the West Bank. The aftermath of Cyclone Nargis showed that access could be an issue in natural disasters, as well, though it was outside the parameters of today's debate.

In the discussion that followed Mr. Holmes' briefing, all speakers expressed deep concern over the continuing violence to civilians, with many supporting the creation of an expert group of the Council, as long as it did not increase bureaucratic machinery. Many also supported the development of the principle of the 'responsibility to protect' in that regard, as supported by the 2005 World Summit. China's representative, however, stressed that, currently, many States had reservations over that principle and the Security Council should not take it upon itself to expand it. Japan's representative proposed that the concept of human security be applied instead, as that never involved military intervention.

A convention to limit or ban cluster munitions was called for by many speakers, while the representative of the United States maintained that harm to civilians from such munitions could be reduced under existing treaties and that those weapons were a necessary tool for its armed forces and those of its partners.

In addition, some speakers disagreed that the issue of humanitarian access was outside of today's discussion, with the representative of France making an impassioned plea for action to get humanitarian aid to the people of Myanmar in the urgent manner necessary, despite the obstacles that had kept his country, for example, from unloading the many tons of provisions that were waiting off shore. The representative of Myanmar said he found it 'highly objectionable' that some delegations had tried to use the debate to politicize a humanitarian issue caused by a natural disaster, and regretted that Mr. Holmes had mentioned it in passing.

Also speaking today were representatives of Italy, South Africa, Costa Rica, Viet Nam, Panama, Russian Federation, Burkina Faso, Libya, Belgium, Croatia, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Qatar, Switzerland, Slovenia (on behalf of the European Union), Argentina, Liechtenstein, Nigeria, Norway, Israel, Syria, Peru, Mexico, Austria, Afghanistan, Georgia, Colombia and United Arab Emirates.

The Observer of Palestine also made a statement.

The meeting opened at 10:15 a.m., suspended at 1 p.m., resumed at 3:06 p.m. and closed at 5:02 p.m.

The full text of the presidential statement, to be issued as S/2008/PRST/18, reads as follows:

'The Security Council reaffirms its commitment to the full and effective implementation of its resolutions on the protection of civilians in armed conflict and recalls previous statements on the issue made by its President.

'The Security Council remains committed to addressing the impact of armed conflict on civilians. The Council expresses its deepest concern that civilians continue to account for the majority of victims of acts of violence committed by parties to armed conflicts, including as a result of deliberate targeting, indiscriminate and excessive use of force and of sexual and gender-based violence. The Security Council condemns all violations of international law, including international humanitarian law, human rights law and refugee law committed against civilians in situations of armed conflict. The Council demands that all relevant parties immediately put an end to such practices. The Council reaffirms in this regard that parties to armed conflict bear the primary responsibility to take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of affected civilians, in particular giving attention to the specific needs of women and children.

'The Security Council re-emphasizes the responsibility of States to comply with their relevant obligations to end impunity and to prosecute those responsible for war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law.

'The Security Council underlines the importance of safe and unhindered access of humanitarian personnel to provide assistance to civilians in armed conflict in accordance with international law, and stresses the importance, within the framework of humanitarian assistance, of upholding and respecting the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.

'The Security Council recognizes the increasingly valuable role that regional organizations and other intergovernmental institutions play in the protection of civilians, and encourages the Secretary-General and the heads of regional and other intergovernmental organizations to continue their efforts to strengthen their partnership in this regard.

'The Security Council takes note of the Secretary-General's report of 28 October 2007 (S/2007/643) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, and requests the Secretary-General to submit his next report on this subject by May 2009. The Security Council invites the Secretary-General to provide an update in that report on the implementation of protection mandates in United Nations missions as mandated by the Security Council. The Council encourages the Secretary-General to continue to include such updates on the protection of civilians in his regular reporting on United Nations missions.'

Background

The Security Council met this morning to debate the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

Briefing

JOHN HOLMES, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the mural on the wall of the Security Council Chamber by Norwegian artist Per Krogh served as a vivid reminder that millions of ordinary people were still trapped in the horror of war and conflict, hoping desperately to rise from the chaos that still surrounded them, into more peaceful times. It was also a reminder to the Council, the Member States and the United Nations of their responsibility to prevent war, secure peace and, in its absence, to ensure the protection of civilians.

He said there were varying degrees of progress on all those fronts. In Kenya, mediation in the wake of post-election unrests had reduced the prospects of intensified violence. The consolidation of peace and relative stability continued in Côte d'Ivoire, Nepal, Timor-Leste and, in a more fragile way, Uganda, allowing for the return of internally displaced persons and refugees. At the same time, recent upsurges of violence in recovering areas like Burundi and Southern Sudan were of great concern.

The full deployment of peacekeepers in Chad, the Central African Republic and Darfur had the potential to significantly augment efforts to protect and assist those caught in the turmoil in the region, he said. However, the risks of deterioration were currently very great. It was essential that those missions be given the requisite support and resources to fulfil their mandates. Last, but not least, there was the potential for notable progress towards improved protection for civilians from the devastating impact of cluster munitions. He urged States to seize the historic opportunity posed by the 100 States currently gathered in Dublin to conclude a treaty that had the protection of civilians at its core.

Important though that progress was, he said, the stark reality remained that, in conflicts throughout the world, countless victims continued to see their hopes shattered by violence and displacement, their lives blown apart by suicide bombers or ground down by physical and sexual violence, deprivation and neglect. In just the first five months of this year, more than half a million people had been displaced by conflict, both within and across borders. Of course, displacement was not the only indicator of conflict or its impact on civilians.

Civilians continued to account for the majority of casualties in armed conflict, often in flagrant violation of the rules of international law governing the conduct of hostilities, he said. In Darfur, for example, civilians remained the principal victims of attacks by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Janjaweed militia. Last month, in Somalia, hundreds of civilians had been killed or injured and thousands more had been forced to flee their homes. Israeli civilians remained subjected to physical and psychological suffering caused by indiscriminate rocket and mortar attacks launched from the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In Gaza, Israeli air attacks and ground incursions continued to result in unacceptable Palestinian civilian casualties. Non-State groups in Colombia continued to perpetrate killings, mass displacements, hostage-taking, sexual violence and forced recruitment of civilians. In Sri Lanka, hundreds of civilians had been killed or injured this year.

In other examples, he said that, in Afghanistan, 300 civilians had been killed in the first four months of 2008 in attacks by so-called 'anti-Government elements', the majority in suicide attacks. Similarly, in Iraq, suicide attacks continued to be used with chilling effect, while members of professional and religious groups, the media and Government officials were targeted for assassination and abduction. In both those contexts, he also remained concerned by civilian casualties resulting from air strikes and search operations conducted by national and multinational forces, as well as the number of so-called 'force protection incidents', in which civilians were shot at after being considered a threat to military convoys or for not obeying instructions at checkpoints.

He said he did not for one second underestimate the challenge in Afghanistan, Iraq and other contexts, of engaging an enemy whose members were difficult, if not impossible, to identify, and who saw the surrounding civilian population as a shield from attack. It was an enemy for whom the principles of distinction and proportionality appeared to have no practical meaning or application. Nevertheless, any military response must itself comply with international humanitarian law and demonstrate respect for the dignity of those already exposed to insurgent attacks.

Against that background, he welcomed the inclusion in relevant Council resolutions of provisions calling for all parties to a conflict to comply with international humanitarian law, including in resolutions authorizing multinational forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. He encouraged the continued and systematic inclusion of provisions to that effect in all relevant resolutions. He also welcomed efforts made by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and other international forces in Afghanistan to minimize the risk of civilian casualties. And he reiterated the Secretary-General's recommendation that ISAF and the multinational force in Iraq provide information in their quarterly reports to the Council on steps taken to ensure the protection of civilians.

He stressed that further robust action was also needed to prevent and respond to sexual violence in armed conflict. That problem must be approached with the same degree of concerted action, wherever it occurred. The Democratic Republic of the Congo might stand apart in terms of intensity of sexual violence, but it was no less essential to take action to prevent the same horrific crimes against the displaced returning home to Southern Sudan, or that accountability was sought for those who 'raped their way' across Côte d'Ivoire and that support was ensured for the victims. It was precisely that need for consistency in approach that stood behind the proposed expert group of the Council.

Another crucial issue was humanitarian access, he continued. Safe, timely and unhindered access was fundamental to the efforts to protect civilians and assist those in need. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was continuing to develop a mechanism to enhance its capacity for reporting and analysis on access constraints in conflict settings. That analysis would be annexed to future reports of the Secretary-General on the protection of civilians and included in the Under-Secretary-General's briefings to the Council. The intention was to provide a disaggregated and qualitative picture of access constraints and their humanitarian impact. It should provide a clearer understanding of how constraints impacted different humanitarian actors, as well as identify emerging trends, such as the increased presence of commercial enterprises that were prepared to 'pay for access'.

He said that one key factor in all of that was the degree of acceptance of humanitarian actors by local populations and parties to the conflict. That was critical for reducing security risks and enhancing access. Meanwhile, not all constraints on access constituted violations of international humanitarian law. For example, some resulted from the absence, or poor condition, of roads and other infrastructure, such as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Other constraints clearly were violations of international humanitarian law. Among the most alarming and direct threats to humanitarian operations today were deliberate attacks against humanitarian workers and other security-related incidents. In Darfur, for example, seven humanitarian workers had had been killed and 109 abducted in the first four months of this year, 131 agency vehicles had been hijacked and humanitarian premises broken into by armed actors on 52 occasions. Humanitarian workers had been forced to relocate from areas of operation on eight occasions, disrupting the provision of vital assistance.

Another major constraint stemmed from restrictions on the movement of staff and goods due to checkpoints and spontaneous roadblocks, such as in Somalia and the West Bank. Interference in humanitarian activities, or the overt diversion of aid, was another significant constraint on humanitarian operations. In Somalia, for example, there was an acute phenomenon of so-called gatekeepers, who sought to control access to communities in need. Still another major constraint stemmed from bureaucratic requirements. Ad hoc demands and requirements by officials at the local level also reduced or paralysed the passage of assistance. While clearly outside the scope of today's debate, he noted that access could, of course, be an issue not only in situations of conflict, but also in the aftermath of natural disasters, as had been seen most recently following Cyclone Nargis. He hoped that issue was now resolved, but implementation would be key.

He said that vital progress had been made in the nine years since the Council had first discussed the protection of civilians in armed conflict. There was an increased awareness among Member States of the issues involved, and four thematic resolutions on civilian protection had established a comprehensive and ambitious framework for action. The challenge now was to realize that ambition and ensure the systematic consideration of protection of civilians issues in the Council's work.

Noting that several Council members attached importance to the Secretary-General's recommendation for the creation of a Security Council expert group on the protection of civilians, he said that, for those that harboured reservations, he wished to be clear that the proposal was not for a subsidiary body of the Council with the bureaucratic and resource issues which that implied. Rather, what was envisaged was an informal forum that would bring together all of the Council member States at the expert level for transparent, systematic and timely consultation on protection of civilians concerns, particularly, but not only, in the context of the establishment or renewal of peacekeeping mandates.

The Council had come far in addressing the protection of civilians in armed conflict, but it could go further, he said. A more consistent approach to integrating the protection of civilians into all relevant aspects of the Council's work could make a very real difference to the lives of millions trapped in the chaos and horror of war. 'An expert group of the kind I described would, I believe, be a useful vehicle to help take you there,' he said.