Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform

The issue of the protection of civilians in armed conflict has been addressed in this Chamber for over 10 years, and we have seen the subject evolve and develop in that time. In this respect, we believe that resolution 1894 (2009) and last year's presidential statement (S/PRST/2009/1) to be of great value.

Other important measures are those taken to punish non-compliance with international humanitarian law in order to put an end to any possibility of impunity. In the context of political support, of equal importance are the role of regional organizations and the contribution they can make to prevention, planning and operations, as well as the support they can provide to national capacity-building for the protection of civilians.

While our primary concern is to prevent the commission of violations, where prevention fails we collectively bear the responsibility to ensure accountability. The Secretary-General's report rightly identifies accountability as one of the core elements of the protection of civilians. Not only is accountability required to fulfil international legal obligations; it is also our best tool for preventing the recurrence of violations.

Over time, in responding to emerging threats to civilians, the Council has looked beyond situations of actual armed conflict to situations of civil strife preceding full-fledged conflict, as well as post-conflict and natural disaster situations. In situations such as the ones in Haiti, Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia, the Council has established broader protection mandates to ensure that the populations' human rights are protected.

Our expertise has also increasingly been called upon to conduct commissions of inquiry in the context S/PV.6427 10 10-64592 of political crises where there is no peace mission but where the lack of protection of civilians and of accountability for violations of their rights represents a threat to peace.

Our approach to protection is first and foremost to prevent the commission of human rights violations. Where that fails, as regrettably it sometimes does, we also contribute to mitigating the effects of conflict on populations at risk and to ensuring proper accountability for violations once they have occurred.

My Office's efforts to enhance accountability are multifaceted. As Council members will be aware, my Office has recently concluded a mapping report of the most serious violations of human rights committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1993 and 2003.

Human rights officers work closely with national authorities and civil society to support national judicial institutions and other accountability mechanisms.

The Secretary-General's report (S/2010/579) paints a very bleak picture of the state of the protection of civilians. Any positive and encouraging developments are heavily outweighed by what is happening on the ground: the continuing and frequent failure of parties to conflict to observe their international legal obligations to protect civilians.

The Council's continued attention to access constraints is welcome. However, greater precision is needed in specifying the nature of the constraints and the actions to be taken to counter them. The Council must ensure enhanced accountability for grave instances of deliberate delays or denials of access for humanitarian operations, as well as situations involving attacks against humanitarian workers.