UNITED NATIONS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, on Tuesday called for urgent action to protect essential services in conflict zones.
"Today, the International Committee of the Red Cross brings a warning to the (Security) Council: without urgent action to protect essential services in conflict zones, we face a humanitarian disaster on a vast scale," Maurer told a Security Council open debate on the protection of civilian objects in armed conflict.
Through its work in various conflict zones, the ICRC has become all too familiar with the severe and cumulative impacts on populations when essential services including electricity, health, education, water and sanitation are damaged in conflict, he said.
The humanitarian consequences are grim: from health crises, displacement, to environmental degradation. There is often no safe water to drink, no electricity to power homes, no health services to treat the wounded and sick, he said.
It is those who already face barriers and disadvantages that are the most affected, including women and children, older people and persons with disabilities. In protracted conflicts, children under 5 years old are 20 times more likely to die from diseases linked to unsafe water and sanitation than from violence, he said.
Maurer made five appeals.
The first call is for all parties to armed conflict, and those who support them, to work for better respect of international humanitarian law. This includes those rules on the conduct of hostilities that protect civilians and civilian objects, including critical infrastructure that enables the delivery of essential services, that protects civilian personnel who operate, maintain and repair infrastructure.
His second call is for the adoption of an "avoidance policy" regarding the use of heavy explosive weapons in populated areas. These weapons should not be used against targets in populated areas unless sufficient mitigating measures are taken to reduce the risks to civilians, including measures to limit their wide-area effects.
Thirdly, he called on states to ensure sanctions regimes and counter-terrorism measures comply with international humanitarian law, notably the rules governing humanitarian activities. Effective mitigating measures, in particular lasting and well-framed humanitarian exemptions, must be put in place to enable impartial humanitarian organizations to ensure the continuity in the delivery of essential services.
Fourthly, he called for the adoption of measures so that health care and interconnected services such as water, sanitation, electricity, are protected to safeguard against public health risks. "Frequently, we see infectious diseases, such as cholera epidemics, rip through communities where water and sanitation infrastructures have been destroyed during fighting. Preventable diseases are costing too many lives."
Finally, he called on states to adopt measures to increase their understanding of the effects of conflict on natural environment and minimize the impact of military operations on the environment and dependent civilians.
Parts of the natural environment are indispensable for the survival of civilian populations. Damage to critical infrastructure poses a wide range of threats to the environment, which in turn can have devastating environmental health impacts. Climate risks now magnify this harm for dependent communities, he said.
Maurer called for the leadership of the Security Council so that the suffering of women, men and children who have already lived through the horrors of wars is not compounded by larger effects and impacts. Enditem
