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UN humanitarian chief warns protection-of-civilians framework is "crumbling" and urges action
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Summary
Under-Secretary-General Tom Fletcher told the UN Security Council that civilian harm in armed conflict has risen sharply, citing UN tallies of more than 36,000 civilian deaths, more than 22 million people displaced, attacks on aid workers and journalists, and new threats from artificial intelligence in warfare.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher told the United Nations Security Council on Oct. 26 that the international system built to protect civilians in armed conflict is deteriorating and urged members to take concrete steps to reverse that trend.
Fletcher said: "the scaffolding built last century to protect us from inhumanity is crumbling." He told the council that last year the United Nations recorded more than 36,000 civilian deaths across 14 armed conflicts and that the true toll is likely higher. He said the number of people forcibly displaced reached ‘‘over 22,000,000,’’ with most displaced within their countries.
The briefing outlined multiple ways civilians are being harmed. Fletcher said repeated attacks on infrastructure have disrupted electricity, water, sanitation, education and livelihoods, depriving millions of essentials to survive. He told the council the U.N. verified about 4,500 cases of a form of violence noted in the transcript and added that, of those verified cases, "93 percent of victims were women and girls." He said conflict-driven hunger and damage to health-care delivery have left millions without medical care.
Fletcher highlighted growing risks to aid workers and journalists. He said humanitarian workers suffered the deadliest year on record for the aid community, with more than 360 aid workers killed last year, including at least 200 in Gaza and at least 54 in Sudan; UNESCO, Fletcher said, recorded 53 journalists killed in conflict. He warned that false narratives and disinformation have undermined humanitarian operations and eroded trust in humanitarian actors.
New technologies also figured in the briefing. Fletcher said artificial intelligence has reportedly been used to select military targets, "raising grave concerns about compliance with international law and the erosion of human oversight," and that information technologies are being used in ways that can damage essential infrastructure or otherwise increase dangers for civilians.
On accountability, Fletcher noted recent steps: a conviction in Uganda of a former Lord's Resistance Army commander on multiple counts, the establishment of a war crimes court in Liberia, national prosecutions in France, Germany and Portugal, and new arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court. He said these are positive developments but cautioned that justice must be independent and not politicized.
Fletcher urged member states to bolster compliance with international humanitarian law through political dialogue, public condemnation of violations, training of armed forces and responsible arms-transfer policies, and he cited the International Court of Justice's reminders about state obligations related to arms transfers and risks to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the Genocide Convention.
He closed by calling for a more ‘‘people-centered’’ protection approach that accounts for patterns of life and civilian perspectives, saying: "let us be remembered not for the warnings we gave, but for the action we took." The briefing did not record any formal Security Council decisions or votes on the floor during Fletcher's remarks.
