He pressed the Council to ensure that protection of civilians is a strategic priority in the planning and conduct of all military and security operations in such areas, notably by leveraging its influence with allies, partners and proxies to foster respect for the law. “This clearly raises serious questions about how parties to such conflicts interpret and apply relevant rules of international humanitarian law,” he said. Picking up that thread, Robert Mardini, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), described the appalling human cost of using explosive weapons with wide-area effects in urban areas: countless people killed, homes destroyed, hospitals overwhelmed by complex injuries and survivors left with lifelong disabilities. He pushed States and non-State armed groups to track reports of civilian harm, gauge the impact of military operations and shift course, if necessary.
Globally, food, fuel and fertilizer prices are now skyrocketing, he said, with a 30 per cent jump in food prices alone threatening people across Africa and the Middle East. By the end of 2021, conflict drove acute food insecurity for 140 million people in 24 countries. In Afghanistan, attacks against health-care facilities have affected access for 300,000 people, while in Yemen, only half of health facilities are functioning. Outlining the grim reality, Ramesh Rajasingham, Director at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, one of four experts briefing the Council, said the Ukraine war and other conflicts have pushed the number of people fleeing to more than 100 million for the first time on record. The calls for action took on a familiar ring, with experts and delegates alike recalling years of appeals for the world body to respect its landmark and unanimously adopted civilian protection resolutions: 2286 (2016), 2417 (2018), 2474 (2019), 2475 (2019) and 2573 (2021). With civilians accounting for nearly 90 per cent of war-time casualties and humanitarians threatened with arrest for providing aid to “the enemy”, the Security Council simply must do more to ensure the protection of innocent people caught amid the conflicts raging around the world, experts from the field told the 15-nation organ today, as over 70 delegates denounced its inaction and explored ways to stanch the suffering during the all-day debate.
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