Implementation

Situation-specific resolutions have increasingly called for prioritizing the protection of civilians in the implementation of peacekeeping mandates. They have requested missions to develop protection strategies.

Last year was an important year in the Security Council for the issue of the protection of civilians. Resolution 1894 (2009) introduced new provisions that focus on humanitarian access, the implementation of protection measures in peacekeeping missions, and monitoring and reporting. In the past year, the Council also took several important decisions related to the special protection needs of women and children.

We are grateful to Under-Secretaries-General Amos and Le Roy, to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Pillay, and to Mr. Daccord, Director General of the International Committee of the Red Cross, for their briefings. The Russian Federation favours the peaceful resolution of disputes.

The work of humanitarian agencies is an important factor. It should be based on the norms of the United Nations Charter and basic humanitarian principles, while their effectiveness depends largely on how they fit into the international community's efforts for political settlements. In that context, respect for State sovereignty is a fundamental principle.

The protection of peaceful populations is a high-priority task for the Governments of States involved in conflict. All parties to armed conflicts bear the responsibility for ensuring the security of civilians. The actions of the international community should be aimed at assisting national efforts in that area.

Women and girls deserve special attention. As recent tragic incidents in the Democratic Republic of the Congo show, there are still many cases in which armed groups, operating in massive and widely dispersed areas, employ horrific sexual and other violence against women and girls.

Recently, United Nations peacekeeping operations are taking on more responsibilities in the protection of civilians. While recognizing that the primary responsibility for civilian protection rests with the nations and parties involved in conflicts, situations of armed conflict often make it extremely difficult for nations and parties in conflict to provide adequate protection measures to civilians.

In this connection, it is essential for peacekeepers to have more responsibility for supporting and providing security to civilians at risk through tangible protection strategies. In addition, the Security Council needs to establish clear, credible, and achievable mandates to ensure the successful and effective protection of civilians prior to deployment.

We meet here today one year after the adoption of resolution 1894 (2009), which is rightly considered to be a benchmark of the United Nations normative system and the best reflection of the Security Council's long commitment to the issue of civilian protection in armed conflict.

The main responsibility to protect civilians lies obviously with States, but it is also clear that, in some cases, States need international support to carry out that responsibility. United Nations peacekeeping operations and United Nations missions, as well as United Nations agencies in general, are crucial to strengthening and helping national capacities to exercise that fundamental responsibility.