UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher on Thursday warned of the unraveling of the protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law in armed conflict.
Some parties to conflict have committed flagrant violations of the rules of war. Some have justified immense civilian harm through permissive interpretations of the law -- loosely defining who is a lawful target, what constitutes a military objective, or what level of civilian harm is "proportional," he said.
The first-ever withdrawal from a humanitarian disarmament treaty -- and more announced since -- has propagated the dangerous and outdated idea that exceptional threats and military necessity can outweigh international humanitarian law. Some states consider the law selectively, depending on the parties concerned or the interests at stake, he told a Security Council open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.
All this undermines the very purpose of the rules of war: to limit human suffering in armed conflict. All this jeopardizes the protection of architecture that took decades to build, he warned.
Last year, the United Nations recorded more than 36,000 civilian deaths in 14 armed conflicts. The real number is much higher. The number of people forcibly displaced reached new highs of over 122 million. Reports of enforced disappearance, torture, inhumane treatment, and other trauma were widespread. Sexual violence was rampant. The United Nations verified some 4,500 cases last year, 93 percent of victims were women and girls, he said.
Conflict-driven hunger reached alarming levels. Health care was under attack. Violence, bureaucratic and administrative measures and other factors continued to hinder humanitarian access. The year 2024 was also the deadliest on record for humanitarians. Over 360 aid workers were killed, including at least 200 in Gaza and at least 54 in Sudan -- mostly national staff, said Fletcher.
Those trying to report on the plight of civilians were also harmed. According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 53 journalists were killed in armed conflict last year, a sharp increase from the previous years. The most striking example is in Gaza, where international journalists are still prevented from entering, and where local journalists have been killed in alarming numbers, he said.
He called on all parties to armed conflict to respect international humanitarian law, and all states to ensure respect for it.
"The measures required to protect civilians are longstanding and time-tested. They require strict adherence to international law and the adoption of good-faith policies and practices to enhance protection," he said.
He also called for an end to impunity, saying justice must not be selective, must remain independent and not be politicized.
"The scaffolding built last century to protect us from inhumanity is crumbling. Those who will die as a result need us to act," said Fletcher, calling on the Security Council and all UN member states to summon greater political will and courage to turn this tide. ■
