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Mr. Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator - Briefing to the Security Council on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, 22 May 2025

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22 May 2025

As delivered

Thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to brief this Council on the state of the protection of civilians in armed conflict, and for prioritizing discussion of this urgent and vital issue.

The short version: The scaffolding built last century to protect us from inhumanity is crumbling. Those who will die as a result need us to act.

Mr. President,

Last year, the United Nations recorded more than 36,000 civilian deaths in 14 armed conflicts. The real number is, I fear, much higher.

In several contexts, repeated attacks harming civilian infrastructure caused disruptions to electricity, water and sanitation services, education, and livelihoods, depriving millions of the essentials to survive.

The number of people forcibly displaced reached new highs of over 122 million, most displaced within their countries.

Reports of enforced disappearance, torture, inhumane treatment, and other trauma were widespread.

Sexual violence was rampant. The UN verified some 4,500 cases last year – 93 per cent of victims were women and girls.

Conflict-driven hunger reached alarming levels.

Healthcare was not spared. The WHO [World Health Organization] documented incidents harming patients, transport, and medical supplies, while millions of sick and injured people were deprived of medical care.

Violence, bureaucratic and administrative measures and other factors continued to hinder humanitarian access.

Humanitarian aid was even used as a bargaining chip to pressure parties and populations.

2024 was also the deadliest year on record for humanitarians. Over 360 aid workers were killed, including at least 200 in Gaza and at least 54 in Sudan – mostly national staff.

Meanwhile, false narratives and disinformation undermined humanitarian operations and eroded trust in humanitarian actors, endangering the lives of our colleagues and the people they serve.

Those trying to report on the plight of civilians were also harmed. According to UNESCO [UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization], 53 journalists were killed in armed conflict last year, a sharp increase from previous years. The most striking example is in Gaza, which international journalists are still prevented from entering, and where local journalists have been killed in alarming numbers.

New technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), have begun transforming warfare. AI has reportedly been deployed to select military targets, raising grave concerns about compliance with international law and the erosion of human oversight.

Information technologies are also being used in ways that increase dangers for civilians, whether by disrupting or damaging essential infrastructure and services, deleting vital data, or drawing civilians to play a part in armed conflict.

Mr. President,

We are witnessing, therefore, an unraveling of the protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law.

This is despite the lessons of history and clear legal commitments.

Some parties to conflict have committed flagrant violations of the rules of war.

Some have justified immense civilian harm through permissive interpretations of the law – loosely defining who is a lawful target, what constitutes a military objective, or what level of civilian harm is “proportional.”

The first-ever withdrawal from a humanitarian disarmament treaty – and more announced since – have propagated the dangerous and outdated idea that exceptional threats and military necessity can outweigh international humanitarian law.

Some States consider the law selectively, depending on the parties concerned or the interests at stake.

All this undermines the very purpose of the rules of war: to limit human suffering in armed conflict.

All this jeopardizes the protection architecture that took decades to build.

There is, though, another path, provided this Council and Member States take action to salvage what they have built.

First, compliance: All parties must respect international humanitarian law, and all States have a duty to ensure respect for it. Political dialogue, public condemnation of violations, training of armed forces, and responsible arms transfers are tangible actions Member States must take to that end.

The International Court of Justice has reminded “all States of their international obligations relating to the transfer of arms to parties to an armed conflict, in order to avoid the risk that such arms might be used to violate” the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the Genocide Convention.

The measures required to protect civilians are longstanding and time-tested. They require strict adherence to international law and the adoption of good-faith policies and practices to enhance protection.

Second, fighting impunity.

In 2024, we saw important steps forward.

In Uganda, a former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army was convicted of 44 charges, including murder and rape.

In Liberia, the President established a war crimes court to address atrocities from the civil wars.

National courts in France, Germany, Portugal and elsewhere prosecuted individuals for war crimes committed abroad.

The International Criminal Court issued new arrest warrants.

These efforts must be supported. Justice must not be selective; it must remain independent and not be politicized. Attacks on the integrity of courts are unacceptable.

Third, we must acknowledge that not all civilian harm stems from violations of the law. Even when parties comply, the scale of civilian harm can be devastating.

That is why the Secretary-General has called for a more comprehensive and people-centered approach to the protection of civilians.

This entails adopting strong policy and operational measures to protect civilians and a deeper understanding of patterns of life and harm. It also means considering protection through civilians’ perspectives and rights.

Mr. President,

Last week in the Security Council, I asked what action we will tell future generations we each took to stop 21st century atrocities.

But the question does not apply to Gaza alone. It applies to so many conflicts where civilians are trapped and terrorized.

This Council and every Member State must summon greater political will and courage to turn this tide.

Mr. President,

Let us be remembered not by the warnings we gave – but by the action we took.

Thank you.

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