UN Officials Warn of Crumbling Civilian Protection in Armed Conflicts

The Deterioration of Civilian Protection

• ⚠️ The international framework established last century to protect civilians from inhumanity is crumbling, necessitating urgent action.
• 🎯 Over 36,000 civilian deaths were recorded in 14 armed conflicts last year, with the actual number feared to be much higher.
• infrastructure disruptions, forced displacement reaching over 122 million, widespread trauma, rampant sexual violence (93% of verified victims were women and girls), and conflict-driven hunger.
• 🏥 Healthcare services, including patients, transport, and medical supplies, have been harmed, depriving millions of necessary care.
• 🕊️ Humanitarian access is frequently hindered by violence and bureaucratic measures, with aid sometimes used as a bargaining chip.
• 💔 The year 2024 has been the deadliest for humanitarians, with over 360 aid workers killed, highlighting the extreme dangers faced by those providing assistance.
• 📰 Journalists reporting on civilian plight are also harmed, with 53 killed last year, and local journalists in Gaza facing alarming casualty rates.

New Threats and Legal Erosion

• 🤖 Artificial intelligence is transforming warfare, with concerns about its deployment in target selection and compliance with international law.
• 💻 Information technologies are increasingly used to endanger civilians by disrupting infrastructure, deleting data, or drawing them into conflict.
• ⚖️ Some parties to conflict are committing flagrant violations and justifying civilian harm through permissive interpretations of the law.
• 📜 There's a dangerous trend of states selectively applying international humanitarian law based on their interests, undermining its purpose.
• 📉 The withdrawal from humanitarian disarmament treaties propagates the idea that military necessity can outweigh international humanitarian law.

Pathways to Rebuilding Protection

• 🤝 All parties must respect international humanitarian law, with states ensuring compliance through political dialogue, condemnation of violations, and responsible arms transfers.
• ⚖️ Fighting impunity is crucial, with support for national and international courts prosecuting war crimes, ensuring justice is not selective.
• 🌍 A more comprehensive, people-centered approach to civilian protection is needed, considering civilian perspectives and rights.
• 🚀 The Security Council and member states must summon greater political will and courage to turn the tide against the erosion of civilian protection.

Specific Impacts on Women and Children

• 🚺 Women and girls are actively targeted in war, with their bodies becoming battlegrounds through sexual violence and the denial of reproductive rights.
• 👶 Over 470 million children, more than 1 in 6, now live in conflict-affected areas, facing grave violations with impunity.
• 🧒 Children are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of war, with a far lower threshold for harm compared to adults.
• 🚫 The laws and norms designed to protect civilians, especially children, are being systematically challenged and undermined, representing an assault on humanity's values.