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Mister President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro^*, Albania^*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina^*,  and Georgia^*, as well as Andorra, Monaco and San Marino align themselves with this statement.

For 25 years, the Security Council has discussed the protection of civilians as an important part of international peace and security. We have repeated our commitment to international humanitarian law and have been calling for to the protection of those not participating in conflicts. And yet, we have seen conflicts proliferate and become more complex. Sadly, protection needs continue to grow at a steady pace: 168 million people were in need of protection in 2023, which is 30 million people more than the year before.

In 1999, Security Council Resolution 1265 spelled out many of the elements needed to improve the protection of civilians, including condemning deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian objects; calling for accountability for genocide, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law; and emphasising the need to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of United Nations personnel and humanitarian workers. Subsequent Security Council Resolutions sought to protect women, children and persons with disabilities, who bear a disproportionate impact of armed conflicts.

After a quarter of a century of emphasising these and other concepts, we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that civilians are protected. So, today, I would like to be more concrete in the European Union’s commitment to the protection of civilians. We see the goal of protection to have three parts: prevent human suffering, alleviate suffering that has not been avoided, and maintain human dignity. We pledge to improve our work on all three fronts.  

To prevent suffering, we must be proactive. Ultimately, the most important way to prevent human suffering from conflict is to prevent conflicts. We must commit to solving disputes with diplomacy, rather than resorting to violence. When prevention fails, strict and full compliance with international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, is non-negotiable. Compliance must include the IHL principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution, as well as the principle of non-reciprocity. When one party violates IHL, this does not give another party license to do the same. Parties to armed conflict must also adhere to IHL in their choice of methods and means used in warfare, and consider the civilian and environmental impacts, both direct and indirect. The EU remains deeply concerned by the use and humanitarian consequences of explosive weapons in populated areas, which has significant civilian impact and should thus be restricted or avoided. In this regard, the EU welcomes the continued work on the Political Declaration on strengthening the protection of civilians from the humanitarian consequences arising from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. We also emphasize the need to implement the responsibility to protect populations from mass atrocity crimes.

Protecting civilians also requires investing in resilience-building, so that communities can better withstand the compounded effects of conflict, climate change and other shocks. Climate change can cause displacement and food insecurity and exacerbate conflicts, or aggravate existing tensions within a region. The EU is committed to helping communities affected by conflict to adapt to climate change, including through investing in disaster risk reduction measures, strengthening early warning systems, and scaling up anticipatory and early action.

To alleviate suffering, all parties to conflict must ensure rapid, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian access, in line with international humanitarian law and the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. IHL prohibits depriving civilians of supplies essential to their survival. Parties to conflicts and all States concerned must fulfil their obligations to allow and facilitate humanitarian action. Humanitarian and medical workers must not be targeted. The EU will continue to work on this, including by facilitating the annual GA resolution on the safety and security of humanitarian and medical workers. In line with our long-standing position as reliable partners and key donors, the EU and its Member States will continue to support the UN-coordinated international humanitarian response.

However, to do so, adequate resources are needed.  As the gap between humanitarian needs and funding widens, we call for increased contributions from others, including the private sector and international financial institutions, and more efforts to increase efficiency, including nexus programming and new modes of work. 

To maintain dignity, we must end impunity and hold perpetrators of IHL violations that amount to war crimes or other crimes under international law accountable. This can allow  victims and survivors to gain closure and deter future violations. In this context, the decisions of international courts and tribunals must be respected and implemented, with a particular emphasis on placing the victims and survivors at the centre of judicial action. Our efforts to protect lives and human dignity must also be better aligned with people and communities’ own understanding and prioritisation of the protection risks they face, and how to best address them. This includes recognising that women and girls continue to be placed in vulnerable situations in conflicts. Conflicts exacerbate sexual and gender-based violence and interrupt access to sexual and reproductive health care services, as well as increase risks of human trafficking. Persons with disabilities also face particular risks. Therefore, it is essential to promote the participation of women and persons with disabilities in humanitarian decision-making. Humanitarian diplomacy is an important tool to support protection of civilians, and one that the EU is committed to strengthening. We are also committed to supporting efforts to monitor the state of IHL in the world, in order to support evidence-based humanitarian diplomacy efforts. Discussions like we are having today are opportunities to reiterate our commitment to sharing best practices which recognise the specific roles that states, international and regional organisations can play in advocating for better protection outcomes.  

As we continue to plan for the challenges ahead, including in the context of the ongoing negotiation on the Pact for the Future, we must not miss any opportunities to prioritise the protection of civilians. When we meet for similar discussions in the coming years, we expect to report more progress made on concrete steps to prevent and alleviate the suffering of civilians, and to maintain the dignity of all.

Thank you.

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.