Checked Against Delivery
Thank you to China for organising this debate. Let me also thank Director Wosornu and President Špoljarić for their powerful briefings.
The picture you have painted is painfully clear. Attacks on civilians are on the rise globally with increasing frequency, increasing brutality, and increasing impunity.
In Ukraine, civilians, cities, and energy infrastructure remain under consistent bombardment.
In Lebanon, civilians, and the infrastructure indispensable to their survival, are caught in the crossfire.
In Gaza, the war has left eighty per cent of all structures destroyed, while civilians continue to face a critical risk of famine.
And in Afghanistan, continued violence has resulted in numerous attacks on civilians, including strikes on medical facilities.
Mr. President,
These are not isolated incidents. Rather, they reflect a deeper, more insidious trend.
A trend of disregard for International Humanitarian Law by State actors and armed groups. Of collective commitments unfulfilled. Of decisions of this Council disregarded.
Today’s conflicts are rarely confined to borders or battlefields, instead their consequences often extend across the globe.
We see this clearly in and around critical maritime routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, where conflict risks deepening hunger worldwide, and the heaviest impact falling on children, women, and girls.
New technologies are also making conflicts more unpredictable and more deadly.
These dynamics are starkly visible in Sudan.
The ultraviolence of drones, the weaponization of hunger, the obstruction of humanitarian access and attacks on civilian infrastructure have had devastating consequences across the country.
Civilians continue to endure unimaginable violence while the threat of famine continues to loom large.
Attacks on medical care in armed conflict are also on the rise globally.
Hospitals, ambulances, health workers, patients, and medical humanitarian personnel are being attacked, obstructed, and denied protection in conflicts around the world.
Mr. President, against this dire backdrop, allow me speak to three areas for action.
First,
The Council must act decisively to ensure both the protection, and accountability for the perpetrators, of attacks on civilians, UN, medical and humanitarian workers. International Humanitarian Law is clear.
As we mark ten years of Resolution 2286, we must also renew our commitment to the special protected status of medical care in armed conflict, including through better reporting, monitoring and accountability mechanisms.
Second, Mr. President,
New methods of warfare are accelerating risks to civilians and to the rules designed to protect them.
The growing use of drones and AI-enabled decision-support and targeting systems raises serious concerns.
These technologies may offer opportunities for improved early warning, accountability, and protection.
However, without clear safeguards in the way these systems are designed, programmed and deployed- and without context-appropriate human judgment and control -these weapon systems also pose risks for safety and security.
Risks of bias, unintended engagements, loss of control and diversion to unauthorized users.
We must ensure that the development and use of autonomous weapons is in full compliance with international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction.
Third and finally, Mr. President,
The scale of civilian suffering we see today is inseparable from the crisis of impunity. This needs to be acknowledged and addressed.
The vast majority of Member States remain committed to international law, the UN Charter, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and to the peaceful settlement of disputes.
Yet, we still witness widespread and grave attacks on hospitals, civilian infrastructure, humanitarian operations, food systems, peace operations, and civilians themselves.
We therefore welcome the global initiative as a way to reaffirm the norms and frameworks built over the past 80 years.
We also call for support for independent investigations, cooperation with international accountability mechanisms, universal jurisdiction, and engagement in new initiatives to move the agenda forward.
In closing,
The international community cannot meet this crisis with statements alone.
What is needed is the will to act.
Our commitment must be clear and our resolve must be firm: violations of international humanitarian law cannot be ignored, excused, or normalised.
I thank you.
