INTRODUCTION 

There have been fatalities in homes, marketplaces, and on the roads among the residents in war zones. Drones, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), fire, bombs, and gunshots have all claimed their lives. Checkpoints, military vehicles running them off the road, walking on mines or cluster bombs, harvesting wood or tending to their farms, and being abducted and killed for fear or retaliation are some of the ways that civilians lose their lives. They are killed in the civil wars that the invasions sparked by the United States, its allies, and insurgents and sectarians.

These nations have suffered greatly from the U.S. post-9/11 conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, and Pakistan. An estimated 432,093 citizens in these countries had perished violently as a result of the hostilities as of September 2021. An estimated 3.6–3.8 million individuals had passed away indirectly in post-9/11 conflict zones as of May 2023. Though the exact mortality rate is still unknown, the overall number of deaths in various conflict zones may be as high as 4.5–4.7 million and still counting. The United States’ post-9/11 military activities in Somalia and other nations have also claimed civilian lives.

Death from war can sometimes occur for weeks or months following hostilities. Many times, the devastation of the infrastructure and the resulting bad health conditions in war zones have claimed more lives than the actual brutality of the conflict. For instance, war refugees frequently lose their jobs or access to a reliable food source, which increases their risk of hunger and illness.

The Costs of War studies detail the toll that war has on populations and their means of subsistence, both directly and indirectly. They also cover the long-term consequences of war-related casualties and injuries on survivors and their families.

Individuals in Conflict

Experts in the field told the 15-nation organ today that the Security Council must do more to ensure the protection of innocent people caught amid the conflicts raging around the world, as over 70 delegates denounced its inaction and explored ways to stanch the suffering during the all-day debate. Civilians account for nearly 90 percent of wartime casualties, and humanitarians are threatened with arrest for providing aid to “the enemy.”

Experts and delegates alike recalled years of pleas for the world body to honor its historic and overwhelmingly enacted resolutions on civilian protection, giving the calls for action a familiar ring: 

The following years: 2286 (2016), 2417 (2018), 2474 (2019), 2475 (2019), and 2573 (2021).

One of four experts briefing the Council, Ramesh Rajasingham, Director at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, outlined the terrible truth, stating that the war in Ukraine and other conflicts had caused the number of refugees to reach over 100 million for the first time.  300,000 people in Afghanistan have had their access to healthcare facilities hampered by strikes, and in Yemen, only 50% of the medical facilities are operational.  140 million people across 24 countries experienced severe food insecurity by the end of 2021 due to violence.

According to him, food, fuel, and fertilizer prices are currently soaring globally, with a mere 30% increase in food prices endangering people in Africa and the Middle East.  He urged governments and non-state armed organizations to monitor reports of injury to civilians, assess the effects of military actions, and change course if needed.

Continuing that conversation, Robert Mardini, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), detailed the horrific human cost of employing explosive weapons in urban areas that have wide-ranging effects: innumerable fatalities, demolished homes, an overwhelming volume of complex injuries at hospitals, and survivors left with permanent disabilities.  He remarked, “This raises serious questions about how relevant rules of international humanitarian law are interpreted and applied by parties to such conflicts.”

In particular, by using its influence with friends, partners, and proxies to promote respect for the law, he put pressure on the Council to make sure that the protection of civilians is a strategic priority in the planning and conduct of all military and security operations in such areas.

In a similar vein, International Rescue Committee President David Miliband stated that neither new laws nor new rights are what his organization’s 30,000 employees are calling for.  He emphasized, “It is for this body to fulfill the commitments it has made.”  The legal, diplomatic, political, and humanitarian framework for safeguarding civilians is disintegrating. 

He noted that the reason assistance distribution gets more difficult every year is not because of the natural topography, but rather because of the growing importance of man-made barriers.  The Council has responsibility for the inability to hold individuals guilty of targeting civilians or humanitarian workers accountable, even though it is not accountable for them.  In the fight to stop aid from being weaponized and strangled, he demanded “new muscle.”

Local women’s organizations need to be included in the plan “from the start,” according to Rachel Boketa, the country director for Women for Women International in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to better safeguard all civilians.  Throughout the planning and execution stages of the humanitarian response, she urged more cooperation between government agencies, civil society, and humanitarian country teams as well as the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

She noted that women’s lives do not easily fit into categories of “sectors,” “agendas,” or “frameworks,” and that women-centered, community-based groups are first on the front lines to give women immediate support.  To meet women where they are, governments should adopt a comprehensive, locally relevant, and transformative mindset and approach.

During the subsequent discussion, representatives from several countries emphasized the significance of abiding by international humanitarian law.  Numerous people denounced the deployment of explosive devices with a broad impact in metropolitan areas, and Austria’s envoy advocated for the formulation of a forceful political statement.  “We must embrace it,” he urged.

A few criticized the Council.  According to Kenya’s ambassador, the Council now spends a significant portion of its time discussing humanitarian issues because of the nature and extent of protracted wars and the lack of desire to address them.  “Weak political will is causing our multilateral tools to collapse,” he said, adding that this Council’s piecemeal approach will only fail and the mass slaughter of many more thousands of people.

Yemen’s ambassador also urged the Council to uphold its obligations, highlighting Iran’s provision of ballistic missiles to the Houthis as a breach of resolutions 2216 (2015) and 2231 (2015) and emphasizing that “the international community has to act.”Here, real accountability is required.

Respecting the Council’s resolutions on the protection of medical personnel, schools, missing persons, and civilian infrastructure, along with allowing unhindered access for humanitarian workers, would improve the fate of civilians, according to some delegates, including those from Ireland, Norway, China, Algeria, and Egypt. 

The representative of Ecuador emphasized resolution ES 11/2, which urged all parties to safeguard civilians, including foreign citizens — especially students — without any conditions if the Council did not take any action.

Numerous accounts detailed the completely inhumane circumstances in Ukraine.  In her national position, the US delegate and Council President for May stressed that the Russian Federation will be held responsible for the alleged use of mass graves, killings, and torture. 

The delegate from Estonia also demanded responsibility, citing Moscow’s widespread bombardment of Ukrainian cities and widespread disinformation, even inside the Council, as evidence that the attack was being carried out with “cynical indifference” to civilian safety. 

Such measures, according to the delegate from Ukraine, are a component of the Russian Federation’s “Nazi-style war strategy.”  But these are individual crimes, he added, citing the recent sentencing of a Russian serviceman by a Ukrainian court for the murder of an unarmed civilian.  

The delegate of the Russian Federation, for his part, stated that his nation fully complies with rescuing civilians who are being held captive by the Kyiv regime, citing involvement in the development of modern international humanitarian law and the code of conduct for warring parties.

Others emphasized the humanitarian response efforts made by their nations.  Remarking that her nation ranks among the top ten contributors, Qatar’s delegate stated that her country has given $18 million to the Central Emergency Relief Fund, consistently supports the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and provides direct support to Afghanistan, including airport rehabilitation.

Others concentrated on incorporating mandates for civilian protection into peacekeeping missions.  Nepal’s delegate stated in that regard that the mandate needs to be viewed as a comprehensive mission strategy backed by sufficient people and financial resources.  National ownership and political solutions that keep nations from reverting to violence during mission transition and disengagement are equally crucial.

However, the ambassador of Brazil emphasized that the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols provide a strong foundation for protecting civilians.  He made the argument that disregard for norms rather than their absence is the issue.

Representatives from the following countries also spoke today: Gabon; India; Ghana; United Kingdom; France; Albania; United Arab Emirates; Mexico; Germany; Turkey; Switzerland; Luxembourg; Slovenia; Malta; Canada; Portugal; Liechtenstein; New Zealand; Slovakia; Spain; Australia; Viet Nam; Georgia; South Africa; Armenia; Japan; Morocco; Iran; Poland; Italy; Bangladesh; Maldives; Costa Rica; Argentina; Indonesia; Guatemala; Uruguay; Republic of Korea; Cyprus; Malaysia; Israel, Croatia, Chile; Greece; Nigeria; Denmark (also for Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden); Pakistan; Azerbaijan.

Both the Holy See’s representative and the head of the EU delegation spoke in their respective capacities as observers.

For a second time, the representatives of Pakistan and India took the floor.

Starting at 10:05 a.m., the meeting was adjourned at 1:08 p.m. and ended at 6:28 p.m.

Briefings

The Secretary-General’s report (document S/2022/381), according to RAMESH RAJASINGHAM, Director of Coordination of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, illustrates the harsh fact that civilians suffer the most during armed conflict.  Last year, conflict nevertheless claimed the lives of many civilians, especially in heavily populated areas where civilians made up 90% of the dead when explosive weapons were employed, compared to 10% in other areas. 

He claimed that landmines, improvised explosive devices, and explosive remnants of war caused civilian deaths, obstructed access to farms, vital services, and livelihoods, and interfered with water, sanitation, and health services in Syria, Afghanistan, and other places.  While fighting in Gaza damaged wells, wastewater treatment facilities, and water distribution networks, parties to the conflict in Yemen destroyed schools, hospitals, highways, factories, houses, cars, and farmland.  Children were more susceptible to being recruited by armed organizations as a result of the constant attacks on and occupation of schools by warring parties.  Over 900 schools in Afghanistan suffered damage or were destroyed in the first nine months of 2021, while thousands of schools in Ethiopia suffered partial or total destruction.

IN CONCLUSION 

Nowadays, with the world becoming more interconnected, conflict rarely stays local. Conflict can start locally, but its effects are rarely confined to a battlefield. Examples of this include refugees fleeing their home countries, contagious diseases spreading unchecked into nearby nations, and terrorists using unrest as cover for international assaults.