Visit of the Ninth Summer Course Students from the International Institute of Humanitarian Law

Dear Participants:
Dear Friends:

It is indeed a pleasure to welcome you all to the Palais des Nations. I appreciate this opportunity to continue our good tradition of coming together during your programme. I always enjoy meeting with the participants in this course, as I have a legal background myself, working in the Legal Department in my national civil service, and have been exposed to international humanitarian law in that context. For me, this is a welcome opportunity to revisit some of those themes.

Let me, first of all, thank you for organizing part of your programme at the United Nations. The Palais des Nations is a unique place to learn about our activities and the positions of Member States. The United Nations presence in Geneva is vast and varied. Some 4,000 staff members work here at the Palais des Nations alone, and we host over 9,000 meetings every year. In total, there are around 8,500 United Nations staff based in Geneva, working in 41 different entities. Disarmament, human rights and economic and social development are among the key topics here. This week, just to give you an example, the high-level segment of the annual substantive session of the Economic and Social Council has been taking place here at the Palais des Nations, adopting a Ministerial Declaration yesterday.

Over the 19th and 20th centuries, the development of international humanitarian law took place mainly as a response to large-scale warfare. 150 years ago this year, the suffering at the Battle of Solferino gave birth to the idea of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The early 20th century saw the adoption of the Hague Conventions in 1899 and 1907, while the atrocities of the Second World War compelled States to establish the principles of the Geneva Conventions now 60 years ago. These wars simply taught us a painful lesson. It is my hope that we will not have to suffer similar bloodshed to further refine international humanitarian law in the 21st century.

I know that you have studied extensively the legal details of International Humanitarian Law. I would therefore like to place your studies in a broader context by giving a general presentation of the humanitarian activities of the United Nations and our work to ensure respect for international humanitarian law.

Dear friends:

We face unprecedented humanitarian crises at the moment. The nature and scope of armed conflicts has undergone significant change. Civilians account for the majority of victims of acts of violence and conflict, including as a result of deliberate targeting, indiscriminate and excessive use of force and of sexual and gender-based violence. Armed conflicts are the major cause of displacement in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Since 2003, an estimated 100,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq and millions have been displaced. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reports that more than 2,000 civilians were killed during hostilities in 2008. This represents an increase of over 40% compared to 2007, so over only one year. As of January 2009, there were an estimated 1.4 million displaced persons in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the Report of the Secretary-General. The Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission has reported that attacks directed against civilians in southern Sudan since December 2008 had displaced at least 38,391 civilians as at 10 March of this year. The recent war in Gaza claimed the lives of many civilians, including children and women. Some 300,000 internally displaced persons are currently accommodated in 40 emergency shelter sites in Sri Lanka following the operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

While the primary responsibility for protecting civilians lies with the parties to an armed conflict, the United Nations has been critical in providing political mediation and peacekeeping support, as well as coordinating humanitarian and development assistance. This is now stretching our capacities. Peacekeepers number more than 115,000, and half of the mandates of current peacekeeping operations specifically include protection of civilians. UNHCR, UNICEF and OHCHR also have the protection of civilians as a core mandate.

The United Nations has contributed significantly to the development of and compliance with international humanitarian law. International treaties on humanitarian issues, such as the 1951 Refugee Convention, and the establishment of international criminal tribunals, as in the cases of Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia to prosecute those responsible for atrocities during times of war and genocide, have helped to strengthen international law. The tribunals opened a particularly important chapter of international humanitarian law. Effective measures for prosecution at the international level can be a powerful deterrent.

The Security Council can impose targeted sanctions against the perpetrators of serious violations against civilians and refer situations to the International Criminal Court. Security Council Resolution 1612 established an enhanced framework for the protection of children in armed conflict. The Council clearly indicated in Resolution 1674 the importance of developing clear civilian protection guidelines that could be translated into realistic standards applicable to peacekeeping troops in combat situations. In January of this year, the Council adopted an updated Aide Memoire on protection of civilians in armed conflict, providing a basis for improved analysis and diagnosis of key protection issues, as well as outlining specific actions available to the Council to respond to those concerns. With Resolution 1820, the Council demanded the immediate and complete cessation by all parties to armed conflict of all acts of sexual violence against civilians.

But, we must always keep in mind that these measures can only be as effective as Member States are willing to make them.

Allow me now to turn to some of the ongoing discussions relating to humanitarian action:

United Nations peace operations are becoming more robust, complex and multifunctional. This necessitates a system-wide United Nations response within an overall political-strategic crisis management framework. Peacekeeping missions need to be appropriately structured and sufficiently resourced to be able to deliver on their mandates. Providing an effective framework for collaboration between humanitarian agencies and the political and security components can be demanding in the context of an integrated United Nations presence, and a number of questions arise:

• For example, how do we effectively support a political transition process while preserving the autonomy and neutrality of humanitarian action needed in highly politicized and militarized environments?

• A second question that arises is how do we promote peace by engaging those who may have unsatisfactory human rights records, when it might confer a degree of recognition on those groups?

• How can we engage in consistent and sustained dialogue with all parties to a conflict while still retaining the role of an “outside critic” of the same process?

• And the last question is, how can we entrench peace processes in the host country’s institutional framework without reinforcing the very structures that led to conflict in the first place?

I am not here only to ask questions, of course. But, I hope that they will stimulate your further thinking on these issues – and maybe one day when you are working for the United Nations or another international organization, you will be part of formulating the answers.

Dear Friends:

Safe and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance is a prerequisite for its effective provision. The cooperation of all parties to a conflict to create areas of security, neutral zones or humanitarian corridors is thus essential. Unfortunately, civilian casualties and constraints on access are often intended consequences of actions by some militia and rebel groups. In 2008, 33 humanitarian workers were killed among the 112 kidnapped in Afghanistan. And 32 humanitarian workers were killed in Somalia. Such actions inevitably result in increased security measures, further restrictions on access and a scaling down of humanitarian operations.

It is useful to also follow the discussions on sovereignty and humanitarian action. At the 2005 World Summit, Member States endorsed the principle of the responsibility to protect, which calls on the international community to act when national authorities cannot or will not protect their people. It remains a challenge to operationalize the concept.

Dear Friends:

Geneva is a focal point for disarmament efforts that aim to limit, or prohibit, the use of certain weapons and to protect particular categories of people in conflict. Several secretariat functions under the Anti-Personnel Landmine Convention – which represents a key instrument in international humanitarian law – are based here in Geneva.

Efforts to limit the humanitarian impact of conventional weapons, in particular explosive remnants of war, are ongoing in the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons – the CCW. This document is also known as the Inhumane Weapons Convention. The purpose of the Convention is to ban, or restrict, the use of specific types of weapons that are considered to cause unnecessary or unjustifiable suffering to combatants or to affect civilians indiscriminately. The structure of the CCW as a framework Convention with annexed Protocols ensures future flexibility. The Convention itself contains only general provisions, while all prohibitions or restrictions on the use of specific weapons or weapon systems are the object of the annexed Protocols.

Protocol V, which was adopted in 2003 and entered into force in 2006, should minimize the risks and effects of explosive remnants of war. The Protocol, which is the first multilaterally negotiated instrument to deal with the problem of unexploded and abandoned ordnance, is intended to eradicate the daily threat that such legacies of war pose to populations in need and to humanitarian aid workers operating in the field to help them.

The use of cluster munitions on civilian populations has horrific humanitarian consequences. Through cluster munitions, wars of the past undermine the prospects of future generations. The Convention on Cluster Munitions, adopted by 107 states in Dublin in May 2008, has the protection of civilians at its core. The Convention represents a major step towards ending the death, injury and suffering caused by these weapons. I hope that the Convention, which has so far been signed by 94 States and ratified – unfortunately – only by 11, will soon have more countries joining.

Dear friends:

This was a brief overview of the United Nations’ activities related to international humanitarian law, and an introduction to some of the challenges before us in this area. I should like to conclude with a few thoughts on how we may be able to further strengthen international humanitarian law, which I hope may lead to an interesting discussion afterwards.

Summing up, I believe that there are five important areas to address to reinforce international humanitarian law:

• Present humanitarian crises demand a deepened commitment on the part of Member States and the United Nations to the protection of civilians and to the promotion of respect for the principles of international humanitarian law, human rights law and refugee law.

• The Security Council is more willing to address the protection needs of civilians in situations of internal armed conflict as the regional dimensions and destabilizing effects of internal conflicts have become more salient. But actions on the ground have not always matched the rhetorical progress. This dimension must be enhanced to ensure compliance. This brings us back to the discussion of the relationship between sovereignty and the application of international humanitarian law.

• Effective and better resourced peacekeeping missions have proven to be important instruments for the respect of international humanitarian law. Detailed knowledge and commitment to the principles of humanitarian law are crucial to facilitating effective provision of humanitarian assistance and implementing peace operations. We need to continue to reinforce our peacekeeping activities for the respect of international humanitarian law.

• Disarmament is closely linked to the ongoing work to reinforce the protection of civilians in armed conflict. A stronger focus on disarmament more generally will also be valuable for the strengthening of international humanitarian law.

• Violations of international humanitarian law by one party to a conflict offer no justification for non-compliance by other parties. Allegations of violations by either side must be fully investigated and those responsible held to account. There is great potential for enhancing our accountability mechanisms. It would be an important signal to potential violators of international humanitarian law.

United Nations tackles the most pressing, interrelated and complex problems around the globe. We look forward to working together with young people like you towards addressing these challenges. You have the power to impact the world. I hope that the tour of the Palais des Nations that you will go on after this meeting will help you to learn more about the complexity and scope of our collective challenges – and how you can be part of confronting them.

Thank you very much.