Security Council endorses proposals to protect civilians

The UN Security Council on Friday strongly condemned the targeting of civilians in conflict situations and passed a resolution expressing its willingness "to respond to situations where civilians were being targeted or humanitarian assistance was being deliberately obstructed". Council members voted unanimously to immediately establish a mechanism to review recommendations on the protection of civilians by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and to consider "appropriate steps" to tackle the targeting of civilians by April 2000. The Security Council also stated its intention that peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace-building operations should make provision for the protection of groups requiring particular attention, including women and children, and to consider how the mandates of such forces "might better address the negative impact of armed conflict on civilians." The resolution emphasised the responsibility of individual states to prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and serious violations of the laws of war. It also condemned the use of force against UN staff and other humanitarian staff, and affirmed the need to hold accountable those who committed such acts. The basis for the resolution was a report to the Security Council by Kofi Annan on a series of measures he proposed to protect civilians in situations of conflict, in which he called for enforcement measures contained in the UN Charter to be used to combat the prevailing "culture of impunity". [See separate IRIN report on 15 September 1999 headlined "United Nations: Call for more protection for civilians caught up in wars"]. Mary Robinson, in an unprecedented appearance by a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights before the Security Council last week, also stressed the link between violations of the rights of civilians and the erosion of peace and security. "Human security has become synonymous with international security", she said. The international development agency Oxfam welcomed the development, commenting that behind the diplomatic language of his report, Annan's recommendations posed a radical challenge to the UN to be better prepared and more willing "to authorise forceful interventions in conflicts" in order to protect civilians. Annan's recommendations aim at "making the Security Council better at saving lives by acting more decisively when there is a risk of conflict or when massive human rights abuses are taking placed", said Oxfam policy director Justin Forsyth.