Spotlight: UNSC underscores humanitarian challenges in protecting civilians in armed conflict

Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 14:32:51|Editor: Chengcheng
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UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A United Nations Security Council (UNSC) debate underscored Tuesday humanitarian challenges faced by health workers, peacekeepers and host countries in protecting civilians affected by armed conflict, calling for measures to rectify them.

GRAVE NUMBERS

More than 128 million people around the world need immediate humanitarian aid, mainly driven by conflict, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, addressing the UNSC open debate.

Last year, the UN recorded the death and injury of more than 26,000 civilians in just six countries: Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Iraq, Somalia, and Yemen, said Guterres, adding that "Ten thousand of these were in Afghanistan."

Civilians in conflicts are also subject to horrific violations of human rights, including rape and other sexual violence. The UN documented more than 800 cases of conflict-related sexual violence in the DR Congo alone last year -- a 56-percent increase over 2016.

Millions of people have been forced to flee their homes for an uncertain future, and at the end of 2016, 65.6 million people were uprooted by war, violence and persecution, said Guterres.

In particular, the UN chief called attention to the fatalities caused by explosive weapons, saying bombing and shelling of towns and cities kill and injure tens of thousands of civilians every year.

Guterres' concern was echoed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Director-General Yves Daccord, who further underscored the vulnerabilities of civilians living in population centers, calling on parties to armed conflict to reassess and adapt their choice of weapons in urban warfare.

HEALTH FACILITIES AND PERSONNEL TARGETED

Participants of the debate highlighted the severe insecurity of health care facilities and personnel in conflict, with many of them referring to an international law on the protection of health care in armed conflict, or UNSC resolution 2286.

However, during the two years since its adoption, from May 2016 to April 2018, the ICRC recorded over 1,200 incidents of violence against health care in 16 countries.

"The gap between words and action is deplorable," said Daccord, urging all states to uphold international commitments and take the protection of health care a national priority.

Olof Skoog, Swedish envoy to the UN, said that last year Syria alone witnessed 112 attacks against medical facilities and workers, and that 645,000 medical items were removed from inter-agency cross-line convoys.

Skoog said the Swedish government, together with the ICRC and the Swedish Red Cross, will launch a project addressing armed forces' obligation to ensure protection and respect for health care in armed conflict.

Karel J.G. van Oosterom, the Netherlands' envoy to the UN, stressed the need to "step up our coordinated efforts to ensure accountability for such international crimes (attacks on health care)."

UN PEACEKEEPING, NATIONAL POLICY

Professional performance by peacekeepers on the protection of civilians was widely called for at Tuesday's debate.

"UN peace operations should prioritize the protection of civilians," said Galymzhan Koishybayev, deputy foreign minister of Kazakhstan.

Syed Akbaruddin, Indian ambassador to the UN, stressed that resources need to be made available to peacekeepers to fulfill their mandated tasks.

Meanwhile, though "protection of civilians is a system-wide responsibility," host countries bear the primary responsibility for it, said Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistani ambassador to the UN.

Moreover, Guterres called upon all governments to develop national policy frameworks to protect civilians in conflict, adding governments should set out proactive measures that mitigate and respond to civilian harm by national militaries, partner forces and international coalitions.

He also called upon member states to support the UN and others in engaging with non-state armed groups to develop policies, codes of conduct and action plans to protect civilians, as well as to support advocacy of the protection of civilians.

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