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World failing to protect civilians caught in conflict: UN Chief

25-05-2023

UNITED NATIONS: The world is failing to protect civilians as the death toll of people caught up in conflicts surged more than 50 percent from the previous year, the United Nations chief said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council “to live up to its commitments” to protect civilians as enshrined in international humanitarian law, citing examples of civilian deaths in Ukraine and Sudan, schools destroyed in Ethiopia, and damage to water infrastructure in Syria.

The world is failing to protect civilians as the death toll of people caught up in conflicts surged more than 50 percent from the previous year, the United Nations chief said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council “to live up to its commitments” to protect civilians as enshrined in international humanitarian law, citing examples of civilian deaths in Ukraine and Sudan, schools destroyed in Ethiopia, and damage to water infrastructure in Syria.

“Law overlooked is law undermined. We need action and accountability to ensure it is respected. And that depends on political will,” said Guterres, sitting next to Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya. “Peace is the best form of protection.”

In Ukraine, which Russia invaded more than a year ago, the UN recorded nearly 8,000 civilian deaths and 12,500 injuries. However, it added actual figures were likely higher.

Worldwide, the number of refugees forced from their homes because of “conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution” has reached 100 million, the UN boss added.

Swiss President Alain Berset, who chaired Tuesday’s meeting, said as the depository state for the Geneva Conventions and the home of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), respect for international humanitarian law was a longstanding priority for the country.

The number of people facing acute food insecurity rose to 258 million last year, which he noted was 30 times the population of New York City.

More than two-thirds live in conflict zones, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan, the Sahel, Somalia, Myanmar and Afghanistan, or in countries where violence is widespread such as Haiti, Berset said. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)

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