EU Statement – United Nations Security Council: Protection of Civilians and Healthcare in Armed Conflict

– As delivered –

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

The Candidate Countries the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, Montenegro^*, Serbia^* and Albania^*, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, align themselves with this statement.

I would like to thank the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, the Vice President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Christine Beerli, and Deputy Executive Director for Advocacy of Human Rights Watch, Bruno Stagno Ugarte for their contribution to this debate.

The protection of civilians and healthcare in armed conflicts continues to be of profound concern. We welcome the focus of today’s debate on this topic and the opportunity to take stock of the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2286 one year after its adoption.

The EU has been from the outset and continues to be a strong supporter of this landmark Resolution. We welcome the strong signal it sends that any violations of IHL against medical personnel and facilities in conflict situations are completely unacceptable.

We are, however, concerned by the troubling developments on the ground. Attacks on medical facilities and personnel in conflicts, such as in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and South Sudan, continue. In some instances these are carried out in full knowledge of the exclusively medical or humanitarian nature of the facilities being attacked, and in most cases without any action being taken to investigate and counter these attacks. We continue to be equally concerned by the lack of safe and unimpeded passage of medical personnel, assets and supplies in numerous instances. The compounded consequences of these on the health of civilians, including children, are devastating.

We must strengthen our resolve to implement the commitments we have made and stop medical facilities and personnel from being targeted, in clear breach of international humanitarian law. It is a war crime to intentionally attack hospitals, and places where the sick and wounded are collected.

The EU is committed to ensuring full implementation of Resolution 2286. At the World Humanitarian Summit last year, the EU made the commitment to promote and enhance efforts to respect and protect medical personnel, transports and facilities, as well as humanitarian relief personnel and assets against attacks, threats or other violent acts. The EU also acknowledges the Secretary General’s recommendations made in 2016 pursuant to the Resolution, and it concurs with the recent report of the Secretary General in this respect, including on the need to share best practices and lessons learned, and ensure rapid, complete, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access.

Mr. President,

The blatant disregard and refusal in many cases of parties to armed conflicts to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law continues to be one of the most critical challenges for the protection of medical care in conflicts, as well as globally for the protection of civilians. This problem is further increased by the escalation of urban warfare in recent years and the use of weapons with wide-areas of impact is destroying critical infrastructure and killing civilians, including medical and humanitarian personnel, in virtually all conflicts. The EU strongly condemns such violations and is committed to consistently speaking out for global respect and compliance with international humanitarian law, and ensuring safe, rapid, full and unimpeded humanitarian access to those who are in most need of assistance.

The EU is a major advocate for international humanitarian law, humanitarian principles and human rights and continues to implement the EU Guidelines on IHL. The EU fosters global respect for and compliance with international humanitarian law through a variety of means, including political dialogue, demarches or public statements about specific conflicts, restrictive measures/sanctions and cooperation with the UN and relevant regional organisations.

However, compliance with international humanitarian law and human rights law needs to be further strengthened and enhanced. The EU and its Member States remain committed to the Swiss/ICRC Initiative on Strengthening Compliance with IHL and call on all Member States to participate constructively in this process. The EU’s long-standing involvement in ending impunity and strengthening accountability includes the EU’s support to the International Criminal Court. The new EU Global Strategy explicitly commits the EU to promote international criminal law and the universality of the Rome Statute.

The EU and its Member States are also committed to continuing their efforts for promoting dissemination of and training in international humanitarian law and human rights both inside and outside the EU, as well as supporting relevant States and non-state actors implementing or reinforcing context-specific measures to enhance physical safety of medical personnel and infrastructure.

The EU will also continue to place protection of civilians at the core of its humanitarian response, and to support the international humanitarian system in ensuring the centrality of protection in humanitarian action. Recognising that a disproportionate percentage of internally displaced persons and those in conflict zones are women, we will apply a gender perspective to ensure that both women’s and men’s needs are taken into consideration and to enable a targeted humanitarian response.

States have the primary responsibility to provide protection for their citizens. However, the protection of civilians is also a main task for UN peacekeeping and is often decisive for its success and legitimacy. Ten out of sixteen peacekeeping missions today have mandates encompassing the protection of civilians.

To conclude, Mr. President,

The EU and its Member States remain committed to the full implementation of Resolution 2286. You can count on our support for reinforcing the protection of the wounded and sick as well as medical personnel, facilities and equipment. We will also continue our global support for the promotion of compliance with international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians. And we call on all states to join us in this effort.

Thank you.

* The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.