UN official urges comprehensive approach to protect citizens in armed war
Date
5/22/2024 5:40:35 AM
(MENAFN) On Tuesday, Joyce Msuya, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, emphasized the necessity of adopting a more comprehensive approach to augment existing measures aimed at safeguarding civilians in situations of armed conflict.
Msuya underscored the critical importance of adhering to both international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law as fundamental frameworks for the protection of civilians during armed conflicts, stressing the need to go beyond mere compliance with these legal obligations.
Msuya's remarks came against the backdrop of widespread harm and suffering inflicted upon civilians in 2023, signaling a distressing pattern of non-compliance with international legal norms governing armed conflict.
She pointed to a concerning trend where the resolutions on the protection of civilians passed by the UN Security Council over the past 25 years have largely gone unheeded, underscoring the urgent imperative for stronger enforcement mechanisms and accountability measures to address violations of IHL and human rights law.
"We must redouble efforts to strengthen compliance by parties to conflict with these obligations. This includes third states taking responsibility for ensuring respect for the rules of war. This entails political dialogue, training and dissemination of policies, and withholding arms transfers where there is a clear risk that arms will be used to commit serious violations of IHL," Msuya addressed the Security Council's annual open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, emphasizing the need for a more comprehensive approach to safeguarding civilian populations.
However, she emphasized the necessity of adopting a more comprehensive approach. According to Msuya, despite claims of adherence to international humanitarian law and international human rights law, significant civilian harm persists in contemporary conflicts.
"It is time to complement existing measures by adopting a more holistic approach, one that considers the perspective of civilians and takes into account the complex, cumulative and long-term nature of the full range of civilian harm in conflict," she declared.
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