YouSaid · the spoken record

Bawumia

lines on the record
9
first
2022-01-25
most recent
2022-01-25
sittings or episodes
1
sources
un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

  1. “Local communities need to be empowered in order to take required preventative actions and also in order not to shield perpetrators of crimes against civilian populations. Also, in addressing the resilience of urban communities, the issue of poverty, which is an important element in urbanization, would need to be taken cognizance of and addressed. National initiatives will therefore need to be supported to equalize access to economic opportunities in all parts of the country, develop alternate and reinforce urban communities, and manage the push and pull factors of migration that sometimes lead to unplanned urbanization outcomes and create fodder for the intensification of such conflicts.”

    2022-01-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8953 (2022) · source

  2. “Those need to be complemented by the retention of support systems that psychologically equip civilians with the right tools, knowledge and skills required to build faster to recover as much of their lives as possible after wars ravage their lands. Fourthly, I urge that we act to control the nature and indiscriminate use of explosives in war, combined with the management of the high civilian population density of urban areas, to reduce the adverse impact that often leads to the loss of lives, crucial infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, and sources of livelihood, such as business centres in these areas. We must recognize that in developing norms and standards to protect civilian populations during conflict, there is a strong need for local engagement in order to assure the acceptance of such norms.”

    2022-01-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8953 (2022) · source

  3. “Secondly, the bane of any global norm lies in the lack of effective enforcement. We must therefore develop strong accountability frameworks that place the protection of civilians in armed conflicts at the heart of national and international justice systems. That requires States to recommit to international humanitarian law in their conduct of warfare and to a zero-tolerance approach towards the impunity of non-State actors. Thirdly, while a general and complete cessation of all urban wars is an ideal aspiration, the reality of war requires that we focus on assessing and developing the resilience of existing urban infrastructure to cope with wars, particularly in terms of evacuation efforts, shelter zones and alternative life support infrastructure.”

    2022-01-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8953 (2022) · source

  4. “The devastating impact of urban wars on civilian populations means that more investments need to be made in devising the necessary coping mechanisms and adaptation tools to tackle the issue. I would therefore highlight the following points for the Council’s consideration. First, we need to enhance global norms and standards on civilian protection in urban conflicts by prioritizing the integration of civilian protection in the planning and conduct of military operations. The Council can play a useful role by encouraging national authorities to embrace useful initiatives for the re-education and retraining of combatants on the new landscape of war and to acknowledge the redefinition of who the enemy is in a calibration of the acceptable tactics employed in contemporary warfare to assure the safety of civilian populations.”

    2022-01-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8953 (2022) · source

  5. “The roles played by civilians in such wars also demonstrate the conflicting, nuanced and complex nature of modern warfare. The Geneva Conventions and their Protocols Additional, which are at the core of international humanitarian law, as well as resolution 2175 (2014), provide for the protection of civilians in armed conflicts. Indeed, although attempts have been made to bind non-State actors and armed groups to the rules of war, much of the conflict we experience globally and on the continent of Africa continues to involve civilian combatants and often results in the scapegoating of civilian populations, which have been used as human shields by warring sides or have become victims of heinous crimes.”

    2022-01-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8953 (2022) · source

  6. “The outbreak of conflicts would therefore have telling effects in view of the population densities of those two continents. We have already seen, in recent years, evidence of the horrific effects of urban conflicts in places like Syria, Iraq and Yemen, but also much earlier on the African continent in countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire, where civil wars that took place had an adverse impact in the city context. The rise of terror and violent extremist groups and organizations — such as Boko Haram, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, Al-Shabaab and Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham — has revealed the huge threat posed to civilian lives. Such groups do not fight in accordance with the rules of law of war. They scapegoat civilians in their crusades and consider them cannon fodder.”

    2022-01-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8953 (2022) · source

  7. “They lead to higher incidents of mortality; the destruction of critical life-supporting infrastructure, such as hospitals; greater numbers of internally displaced persons; and a higher incidence of criminal and sexual exploitation, particularly once such wars are prolonged. That creates further vulnerabilities that are exploited by violent extremist groups to radicalize young people. Data from 2018 from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs shows that the world is becoming increasingly urbanized, with 55 per cent of the world’s population living in urban areas and a rise to 68 per cent expected by 2050. Asia and Africa, where most stabilization efforts are taking place, are expected to be the fastest-growing areas of urbanization.”

    2022-01-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8953 (2022) · source

  8. “Advancements in science and technology have led to the development of compact and more sophisticated weapons systems that are able to deliver greater damage to targets and their surroundings. The humanitarian consequences of the increase in urbanized conflicts on civilian populations are therefore serious and require the careful consideration of existing frameworks for the management of urban wars. We therefore welcome the focus that this debate brings to the topic. Wars by nature exact untold suffering, death and destruction. However, when wars are fought in cities, their impact on populations is even worse.”

    2022-01-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8953 (2022) · source

  9. “I thank the Norwegian presidency of the Council for the month of January 2022 and His Excellency Mr. Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of Norway, for convening this high-level open debate on the topic of war in cities and the protection of civilians in urban settings. I convey to you, Sir, and to the Council President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo’s best wishes for a successful debate. I also join other speakers in thanking the Secretary- General, Mr. António Guterres, and the other briefers for their useful insights on the topic of this high-level open debate. The asymmetrical nature of the prevailing wars in cities and the consequent embedding of combatants within the interconnected resources and infrastructure of urban areas pose immense challenges to the protection of civilian populations.”

    2022-01-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8953 (2022) · source