Statement by Dr Wouter Zaayman at the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict
22 May 2018
Mr President,
Let me commence by extending our congratulatory remarks and appreciation of the Polish Presidency and the excellent work undertaken by your delegation during the period of your term.
My delegation aligns itself with the statement delivered by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.
We wish to begin by commending troop contributing countries and the sacrifices of its personnel, as well as international organisations such as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Médicine Sans Frontières (MSF), which are at the forefront of monitoring, mobilizing resources and assistance to the civilian populations affected by conflicts.
Mr President,
The theme of this debate is particularly important and timely given that the unfortunate events in recent weeks has further illustrated in graphic detail the dangers that civilians face all around the world in conflict situations.
The Security Council, emanating out of a catastrophic world war that saw the lives of millions of civilians being killed has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Thus all of us, have an obligation to work together to end the “scourge of war” which is deeply felt by the civilian population in armed conflict. It is for this reason, that the failure of this Council to act on the situation in Gaza, where a civilian population was deliberately targeted by a military force, is a matter of utmost concern. It was left to the Human Rights Council to initiate an investigation due to the failure of the Security Council to carry out its mandate, and we fully support this independent inquiry.
Mr President,
We stress that the Security Council must uphold and respect the norms of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law. While recognising the primary responsibility for the protection of civilians is the host country, UN Peacekeeping Missions are often mandated with this task. Since 1999, Protection of Civilians has become one of the central concerns of UN Peacekeeping operations, yet both policy and practice has not evolved quickly enough in order to realise full and effective protection of civilians. South Africa has argued, in line with Resolution 1894 (2009) that in order for UN peacekeeping operations to effectively carry out their protection of civilians’ mandate, they would require the requisite resources and capabilities to assume a robust posture to implement their mandate.
Mr President,
South Africa also sees a glaring violation of international law by armed groups with deliberate attacks on medical personnel, hospitals and installations. Such practices not only plunges civilian populations into a crisis, but further threatens the mission of the HealthCare in Danger Project by endangering the lives of health workers and the destruction of their equipment, obstruction of access to reach civilians with medical care and the provision of other basic amenities of life.
It must be stressed that creating conditions conducive to deliver humanitarian assistance remains a core responsibility of mandated institutions and the host government. Any act of aggression to medical personnel and humanitarian workers is an act of war and such violations need to be accounted for.
Mr President,
I would like to conclude by commending all personnel involved in peacekeeping missions, as well as civil society groups for the service they perform. Often they are inadequately resourced for the enormous challenges that they face on a daily basis. South Africa will continue to interact closely with them to allow them to perform their vital international role.
I thank you.
Rev. Thursday, 26-Jul-2018 11:31 AM