Pakistan urges UNSC to take steps to protect civilians in armed conflict

Pakistan has urged the UN Security Council to take “impartial” action in a bid to protect civilians on the ground in situations of armed conflict.

“It is a grim reality that today in armed conflicts around the globe, civilians account for the vast majority of  casualties,” Pakistan UN Ambassador told the 15-member Council in a debate on ‘Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’ on Wednesday.

More than 70 countries participated in the debate, chaired by Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan of South Korea, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council for this month.

Ambassador Masood Khan said that civilians bear the brunt of wars, conflicts and strife. Progress had been made to elaborate the normative framework for civilian protection, but it had yet to be translated into tangible results.

All parties to armed conflict must bear responsibility to protect civilians and ensure protection of women, children, journalists, refugees and internally displaced persons, who were most vulnerable, the Pakistani envoy said.

He also strongly condemned attacks against medical personnel and facilities, as well as schools and teachers.

Over a decade ago, he said, there were some questions about the Security Council’s role and mandate on protection issues, as well as its ability to deliver.  However, a broad consensus had been forged that the Council’s work, when pursued without politicization, produced salutary results on the ground.

Ambassador Masood Khan said Pakistan, as one of the top troop-contributors, had worked in many missions, currently participating in such operations as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Darfur, Ivory Coast and Liberia.

Protection of civilians remained the primary responsibility of host countries, but consultations among the host Government, troop-contributors and humanitarian actors was a good practice, the Pakistani envoy said.  Yet, there should be no misplaced expectations, because missions could not provide protection to all the civilians all the time.  Thus, it was vital to build national defence and security capabilities.

The key element in the protection of civilians in armed conflict was impartial handling of all situations by the Council, he added.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=38190

Posted by Tahir Khan on Feb 13 2013. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.