Rosary Sisters’ High School Model United Nations

ROSMUN 2018

Security Council

Protecting Civilians in Armed Conflict

Layan Ghosheh

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Introduction:

For the past decades, the overwhelming percentage of people killed or injured by explosive weapons, armed conflict or complex emergencies in populated areas are civilians. They are in need of humanitarian aid and protection. As estimated, 97 per cent of humanitarian assistance goes to complex emergencies. As a matter of fact, the civilians who are affected and targeted the most are women and children. Generally, there have been more than 65 million victims who were internally displaced either by conflicts, violations or even persecutions. About 20 million victims comprising of 1.4 million children are often kidnapped or taken and forced to become child soldiers, while the other victims are being killed, raped and sexually abused, kidnapped and enslaved.

The International Humanitarian Law (IHL) exists to protect civilians in conflicts by putting obligations and laws on all parties to a conflict. Most civilian deaths, suffering and displacement that we witness in armed conflict can be avoided if all states respect the norm of the IHL. Civilians are killed in attacks; schools, hospitals and places of worship are deliberately or indiscriminately bombed or shelled.

Definition of Key-Terms:

“Armed conflict: There are two types of conflicts that are recognized by international humanitarian law: international armed conflict, and non-international armed conflict.

o International armed conflicts (IAC) èopposing two or more States. o Non-international armed conflicts (NIAC)è between governmental forces

and nongovernmental armed groups or between such groups only.” (1)

“Civilian: A person not actively involved in a current military operation. This definition can extend to retired military personnel and even current serving personnel who are not taking part in the conflict.” (2)

“The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons: is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force in 1997.” (3)

“Internally displaced people (IDPs): IDPs have not crossed a border to find safety. Unlike refugees, they are on the run at home.” (4)

“Refugees: they are people fleeing conflict or persecution. They are defined and protected in international law, and must not be expelled or returned to situations where their life and freedom are at risk.” (4)

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“North Atlantic Treaty Organization: is an intergovernmental military alliance between several North American and European states based on the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949.” (5)

Background Information:

In most of today’s armed conflicts, civilians are the main victims of these wars; they are being killed, tortured, raped, enslaved, abducted, disappeared, used as human shields, forcibly recruited or forcibly displaced, separated from their families and denied access to the most basic necessities through indiscriminate attacks committed by both State parties and non-State armed groups. Furthermore, hospitals and schools are as well the actual targets of warfare as humanitarian goods are often removed from convoys and entire communities are besieged as methods of warfare.

Globally, more than 40.8 million of internally displaced persons had been displaced due to conflicts, violence and disaster in 2016, according to the internal displacement monitoring center (IDMC). In addition to the overwhelming numbers of refugees that has exceeded up to 213 million.

Civilians face different threats and difficulties during and after the armed conflict, therefore; the protection of women, men, girls and boys and the internally displaced persons are the basis of International humanitarian laws.

Undoubtedly, civilians are victims of armed conflicts as is the case in numerous conflicts around the world such as the Syrian civil war. According to the United Nations, more than 400,000 Syrians have been killed in the conflict. Furthermore, more than 5 million Syrians have fled the country and 6.3 million people are displaced internally. The rise of terrorist groups, including ISIS / ISIL has led to an increase in carrying out suicide bombings, sexual enslavement of women and girls, executions, physical mutilation and other atrocities. Furthermore, the human rights watch stated that the chemical attacks which were released in 2017 had killed nearly 100 Syrians. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons investigated more than 60 allegations of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic.

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Picture Source: http://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2016/6/5763b65a4/global-forced-displacement-hits-record-high.html

The conflict in Yemen is considered one of worst humanitarian catastrophes in the world. According to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the ongoing conflict also prompted a staggering number of 2 million civilians to flee their homes; many civilians were displaced and struggled to survive with the limited resources available. Furthermore, the following countries (Niger, Chad, & Cameroon) had also suffered due to conflicts ; about 1.3 million children were displaced across the Lake Chad Region, 2.3 million people were displaced, 123,000 children who are refugees in neighboring countries—Niger, Chad, & Cameroon and 515,000 children under 5 suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition in the Lake Chad Basin.

Women and children in armed conflict:

As stated previously, children and women remain the ones who pay a heavy price in the armed conflicts in many countries including Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen, and many other countries and regions.

The impact on children:

During and after the conflict children are affected in many ways; first and foremost, the biggest impact goes to the lack of education since schools are b destroyed or used for military purposes or closed for security reasons meaning that there won’t be a place to study or even a teacher to educate because they may have fled during the war. Moreover; according to an estimation that has been done by The United Nations Children’s Fund, 246 million children live in conflict-affected zones or if not, they are deprived of education when their schools are destroyed. Moreover, about 40 per cent of internally displaced persons are children. Also, they often may get kidnapped or taken and forced to become child soldiers in a way or another.

The impact on women and girls:

Women and girls during the warfare are particularly targeted and exposed to torture and violence, and the reason for this violence is due to the existence of extremism and terrorism.

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Conflict-related violence killed and maimed women and girls, as they often constitute new kinds of threats to women’s rights and lives and causing flight and displacement. Women as well suffer from sexual violence during the conflict. These actions critically affect the health and psychological wellbeing of women and constitute drastic violations of human rights. Women are not the ones who start wars, but they are the ones who do suffer heavily from the consequences.

Major Organizations Involved:

1. The International Humanitarian Law (IHL): the IHL aims to defend and protect the people who are injured or wounded during and after the warfare, the prisoners and civilians, and the persons who are not or are no longer taking part in hostilities. Moreover, The IHL focuses particularly on protecting and identifying the groups from the civilians who are affected the most in these conflicts, including women, children and the displaced.

2. The Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict: The Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict was established in July 2005, following the adoption of Security Council resolution 1612 ,as It reviews reports on violations against children affected by armed conflict and promoting their protection through recommendations on appropriate mandates for peacekeeping mission and of the monitoring and reporting mechanism concerning parties in situations of armed conflict

3. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): Since the establishment of the ICRC

in 1863, its main objective has always been protecting and helping the civilians affected in armed conflicts. It has worked and still working on the benefit of the persons who have been deprived of their basic necessities and freedom; the ICRC tries to bring back the families who were separated in the conflict together; however, it further focuses on gathering the children with their parents as a high priority, so as to remake connections between the members of the family all over again. In 1977, the ICRC has adopted two Protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions, which has helped in inducing and prompting the ICRC to tackle the issues related to the conduct of hostilities. In addition to that, it continues to compress the States and the parties so as to show such respect for the principles of IHL; since, as mentioned it helps in protecting the victims of the conflict who are the civilians.

UN Documents for Protection of Civilians- Relevant UN Resolutions and Events:

“3 MAY 2016S/RES/2286 This condemned attacks on health care workers and facilities in armed conflict.

27 MAY 2015S/RES/2222 This was a resolution on the protection of journalists that focused on the need to combat impunity for attacks against

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journalists, enhance reporting on violence against journalists and improve international coordination to strengthen the protection of journalists.

29 AUGUST 2014S/RES/2175 This resolution condemned violence and intimidation against those involved in humanitarian operations.

16 APRIL 2014S/RES/2150 This was a resolution calling on all states to prevent and fight against genocide, and other serious crimes under international law, reaffirming the principle of responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, and underscoring the importance of taking into account lessons learned from the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, during which Hutu and others who opposed the genocide were also killed.

11 NOVEMBER 2009S/RES/1894 This resolution focused on compliance with international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law as well as relevant Council decisions, humanitarian access and UN peacekeeping.

23 DECEMBER 2006S/RES/1738 This resolution condemned intentional attacks against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel, and requested that the Secretary-General include as a sub-item in his next reports on the protection of civilians in armed conflict the issue of the safety and security of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel.

28 APRIL 2006S/RES/1674 This resolution was on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, expressed grave concern at the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons, and the use of such weapons on civilians affected by armed conflict. The Council emphasized the need to end impunity and drew attention to the range of justice mechanisms to be considered, including national, international and mixed criminal courts and tribunals.

26 AUGUST 2003S/RES/1502 This resolution condemned all violence against humanitarian and UN and associated personnel, recalled obligations to protect such personnel under international humanitarian, refugee and human rights law, and called for unimpeded humanitarian access.

19 APRIL 2000S/RES/1296 This was on “Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict and” the Council emphasized the importance of incorporating DDR in peace agreements.

17 SEPTEMBER 1999S/RES/1265 This was the Council’s first thematic resolution on protection of civilians in armed conflict, condemning targeting of civilians, calling for respect for international humanitarian, refugee and human rights law and expressing willingness to take measures to ensure compliance and to consider how peacekeeping mandates might better address the negative impact of conflict on civilians.

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19 NOVEMBER 1998S/RES/1208 The Council affirmed the primary responsibility of States hosting refugees to ensure the security and civilian and humanitarian character of refugee camps and settlements in accordance with international refugee, human rights.

15 NOVEMBER 1996S/RES/1080 The Council welcomed the offers made by member states concerning the establishment for humanitarian purposes of a temporary multinational force to facilitate the immediate return of humanitarian organizations and the effective delivery by civilian relief organizations of humanitarian aid to alleviate the immediate suffering of displaced persons, refugees and civilians at risk in eastern Zaire.

17 MAY 1994S/RES/918 This resolution imposed sanctions in connection with Rwanda and adjusted UNAMIR.”

Source: http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/protection-of-civilians/

Previous Attempts to Solve this Issue:

The UN Security Council is one of the many organs that are working and have worked towards the protection of civilians in armed conflict. The SC has submitted numerous resolutions to help resolve this issue, including; the adoption of the resolution 2150 (2014), that has called upon States to recommit to prevent and fight against genocide and other serious crimes under international law. Also, it has urged the states that had not yet ratified or signed the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to reconsider doing so as a matter of high priority concerning this issue. Additionally, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization adopted and approved its first Military Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict, which its main aim was instilling a comprehensible tactic in order to protect the civilians specifically the children in all their operations, such as lesson learning and capacity building along with training

Finally, the UN Peacekeeping missions have helped as well in conflict-affected areas with reducing the tensions, so they helped in navigating the difficult path from warfare and violence into peace and security.

The aforementioned timeline also indicates the efforts to combat

Possible Solutions:

Security Council has a vital role in ensuring protection of civilians in armed conflict; therefore, below are some solutions which could assist in addressing this issue:

Ø Tackle the root causes that are causing the conflict, promoting good governance, investing in sustainable and inclusive solutions to the conflict.

Ø Promote the rule of law, enhance the international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

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Ø Protect the civilians and ensure the safe passage of humanitarian aid to affected areas.

Ø Prevent forced displacement and adopt sound solutions for the IDPs and the refugees.

Ø Collaboration among Humanitarian Aid organizations to ensure humanitarian aid to affected population.

Ø The UN peacekeeping operations must remain a vital tool for the protection of the civilians.

Ø Condemn any unlawful acts of forced displacement by parties to conflict.

Ø All member states should undoubtedly follow and abide by the Geneva Conventions in accordance to the protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War .

Ø Guarantee women’s human rights since they get raped and sexually abused during the conflict.

Ø Protect children and ensuring their safety.

Ø Adopt resolutions which could ensure protection of civilians through strict measures / sanctions against member states which violate human rights.

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Bibliography:

1. Citizens for global solutions, (n.d.), “Protecting Civilians in Armed Conflict”, retrieved from: http://globalsolutions.org/files/public/documents/CP-Factsheet-Protecting-Civilians-in-Armed-Conflict.pdf

2. HPG, (October 2015), “Protection of civilians in armed conflict bridging the gap between law and reality”, retrieved from: https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/9876.pdf

3. UN Security Council, (13 May 2016), “S/2016/447, Report of the Secretary-General on the protection of civilians in armed conflict”, retrieved from: http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2016_447.pdf

4. UNICEF, (May 2006), “Protecting Children during Armed conflict”, retrieved from: https://www.unicef.org/chinese/protection/files/Armed_Conflict.pdf “EFFECTIVE PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS IN ARMED CONFLICT REQUIRES TRONGER PASRTNERSHIPS, SECURITY COUNCIL TOLD”, retrieved from, https://www.un.org/press/en/2005/sc8575.doc.htm

5. Security Council Report, (28 September 20170), “Children and Armed Conflict”, retrieved from: http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2017-10/children_and_armed_conflict_7.php

6. Security Council report, (20 December 2013), “Protection of Civilians in Armed conflict”, retrieved from: http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/research-reports/protection-of-civilians-in-armed-conflict.php

7. Permanent mission of France, (18 December 2013), “Protection of civilians”, retrieved from: https://onu.delegfrance.org/Protection-of-civilians-8740

8. ICRC, (25 MAY 2017), “Protection of civilians in armed conflict”, retrieved from: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/protection-civilians-armed-conflict

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9. UN Security Council, (10 May 2017), “S/2017/414, Report of the Secretary-General on the protection of civilians in armed conflict”, retrieved from: http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2017_414.pdf.

Sources for the definition of key-terms:

1) ICRC, (March 2008), “How is the Term "Armed Conflict" Defined in International Humanitarian Law?” retrieved from: https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/opinion-paper-armed-conflict.pdf.

2) Wycliffe Model United Nations Wiki, (n.d.), “The Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict”, retrieved from: http://wymun.wikia.com/wiki/The_Protection_of_Civilians_in_Armed_Conflict.

3) OPCE, (n.d.), “About OPCW”, retrieved from: https://www.opcw.org/about-opcw/

4) UNHCR, (n.d.), ” Internally Displaced People”, retrieved from: http://www.unhcr.org/internally-displaced-people.html

5) Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, (n.d.), “NATO”, retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO