YouSaid · the spoken record

Egeland

lines on the record: 421
first: 2003-12-09
most recent: 2022-01-27
sittings or episodes: 20
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

“While I welcome steps taken by the Government of Uganda to operationalize the national policy on internally displaced persons, more should be done by the Government and its army and police to assume responsibility for the protection of the civilian population. More must also be invested in the provision of basic services in the affected areas. The Security Council should pay close attention to the regional dimension of the crisis and the threats to humanitarian work, and could consider several potential steps. The Council should strongly condemn the LRA's attacks against civilians and humanitarian workers. The Council should insist on an immediate cessation of violence and of all support to the LRA from all sources.”
2005-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5331 (2005) · source
“A relatively small number of fighters is threatening a huge area and millions of people. I would like to suggest a number of steps the Governments in the region and this Council could take. It is of the utmost importance that the three Governments concerned fully acknowledge how dangerous the situation has become for civilians and humanitarian workers and that they do whatever they can to protect their citizens, secure access for relief workers and promote regional solutions. As I noted in my recent briefing to the Council on the protection of civilians, efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in northern Uganda must be strengthened through an internationally supported process. The United Nations must actively contribute to that effort.”
2005-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5331 (2005) · source
“As long as there is a significant LRA presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo/Sudan border area, it is difficult to imagine when refugees will be able to start returning to Central or Western Equatoria, areas that previously were among the safest in the southern Sudan. That has clear consequences for efforts to rebuild and stabilize that important region. Much more needs to be done to address the threats and conditions I have just described. The Governments of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Sudan bear the primary responsibility to protect and assist their populations, as well as to pursue the LRA. Unfortunately, their actions so far have not prevented the LRA from causing the devastation I have just described. The LRA continues to maintain bases and moves relatively freely throughout the region.”
2005-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5331 (2005) · source
“After three staff members of non- governmental organizations were killed, large parts of the Equatorias became inaccessible. In Central Equatoria, international non-governmental organization staff withdrew and critical health programmes in rural areas have been curtailed. In Western Equatoria, a UNICEF-led measles campaign has been disrupted and only covered 10 per cent of the targeted population. Some 180 primary health care facilities in Central and Eastern Equatoria are currently inaccessible to UNICEF and non-governmental organization partners. The LRA attacks have also severely hampered the preparation for the return of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and Uganda. Many recovery projects to support the returnees have had to be suspended for now, including hospitals and water points.”
2005-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5331 (2005) · source
“Given the conditions in the camps, it is not surprising that many LRA combatants remain in the bush. We have not done enough to create the "pull factor" that could draw more of the LRA to disarmament and reintegration programmes. Those who have come in have found few chances to live a safe and productive life. We must dramatically expand our programmes for reintegration in order to give hope to those who still see fighting as a better option. The LRA is also wreaking havoc in the Equatorias in the southern Sudan. Dozens of civilians have been killed since the LRA crossed the Nile in mid-September and over 100 people, including children, have been abducted, many of whom have not returned. The impact on our humanitarian operations has been dramatic.”
2005-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5331 (2005) · source
“A recent joint study conducted by the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization and non-governmental organizations indicated that crude and under-five mortality rates were more than double the emergency thresholds. Access by internally displaced persons to farming areas outside camps is extremely limited due to movement restrictions imposed by the Uganda People's Defence Forces. Less than half the internally displaced persons in Acholi districts can access land that is more than two kilometres outside of their camps, severely hampering their ability to produce their own food. At present, there is no prospect of a large scale return before the critical March planting season. Therefore, WFP will have to provide food aid to 1.5 million internally displaced persons through 2006.”
2005-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5331 (2005) · source
“In October and November alone, five humanitarian workers were killed by LRA ambushes in the Sudan and Uganda. The United Nations can access only 18 of the 200 camps for internally displaced persons in northern Uganda without military escorts. Although the World Food Programme (WFP) is able to distribute food under heavily armed military escorts, many other organizations find fees for escorts prohibitively expensive or do not use them on principle. The non- governmental organization Action Against Hunger has reported that 57 per cent of internally displaced persons in one area - 480,000 people - were not accessible in November. Without access, the effects are predictable: increased mortality, rising exposure to human rights violations, and deepening vulnerability. Life in the camps continues to be unacceptable.”
2005-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5331 (2005) · source
“LRA attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers have escalated, severely undermining our ability to provide relief to millions of people and disrupting the long-awaited return of refugees to southern Sudan. While the overall number of LRA combatants may not have increased, they have spread out over a larger area and now constitute a significant threat to regional security, with appalling consequences for several million people. The specific impact of LRA activities on humanitarian operations has been as follows. In northern Uganda, gains are being lost as security erodes. Access to the nearly 1.7 million IDPs encamped in the northern districts has decreased in the past three months. Recent violence has hampered assistance efforts, and we have seen a shocking new tactic: the deliberate targeting of humanitarian personnel.”
2005-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5331 (2005) · source
“I therefore appeal very strongly to the Council to show the sense of urgency and determination needed to achieve the objectives identified in its resolutions and to help bring this crisis to an end. The second issue I want to address is the regional crisis caused by the activities of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda, the Sudan and, most recently, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In mid- September, a group of LRA fighters crossed from the Sudan into the north-eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They remain in that border region, from where they threaten much of the Western Equatoria area of southern Sudan.”
2005-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5331 (2005) · source
“Our massive humanitarian operation will not be sustainable unless we finally see commensurate efforts in the political and security areas. The next few weeks will be critical, both for the talks in Abuja and as the Security Council and the African Union deliberate on the next steps. We need an expanded and more effective security presence on the ground as soon as possible: a presence that can provide more effective protection and, ultimately, allow people to return to their homes. That expanded presence is needed whether or not the Abuja talks succeed. It cannot be right that we have twice as many humanitarian workers in Darfur as international security personnel.”
2005-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5331 (2005) · source
“Tensions between the 200,000 Sudanese refugees and Chadian host communities remain high. Attacks on innocent civilians by armed groups crossing from the Sudan continue to be reported, including the massacre in Modaina on 25 September, which the Council condemned. Only yesterday, it was reported that 100 people were killed in an attack on the town of Adre, in eastern Chad. Equally worrying are the recent political and military developments in Chad, including the mounting tension with the Sudan over Darfur. A further deterioration of the situation would pose a threat to ongoing relief operations to Sudanese refugees and could trigger a serious humanitarian crisis. The Council has taken many important steps to address the crisis in Darfur. But unless those measures have a real impact on the ground, the wound will continue to bleed.”
2005-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5331 (2005) · source
“We have to face up to the terrible reality that our colleagues on the ground are witnessing and reporting every day. The killings have not stopped. The rapes are continuing, as are the burning, looting and forced displacement that I first reported to the Council more than 20 months ago. For three consecutive months now, the situation has been deteriorating. We have had less humanitarian access during this period than at any other time since that first briefing, in early April 2004. More than 20,000 more people were displaced in the last few weeks alone. In a deeply worrying new development, camps for internally displaced persons (IDP) are themselves increasingly being attacked by militias. The regional spillover effects of this crisis on Chad and the impact of Chadian groups crossing into west Darfur are also cause for great concern.”
2005-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5331 (2005) · source
“But we must realize that their work and their lives are under increasing threat and that our operations can now be disrupted completely by renewed conflict any day, and anywhere, in Darfur. We must be acutely aware that all that has been built up by the thousands of relief workers and by hundreds of millions of dollars in donor contributions could be destroyed. We could be on the brink of losing this huge humanitarian operation. In addition, no amount of humanitarian relief can provide what those threatened by the conflict have wanted most from day one: effective protection against violence of the most vicious kind, and the ability to return to their homes. Only an effective ceasefire, a political solution and a strong international security presence can accomplish those objectives.”
2005-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5331 (2005) · source
“Mr. Egeland: This is a very important opportunity for us to brief the Council on several major challenges that the humanitarian community faces in Africa at the moment, all of which have regional implications. I will start with what continues to be the largest humanitarian operation in the world - the crisis in Darfur - as well as with its impact on neighbouring Chad. The humanitarian operation launched in late 2003 has been remarkably effective this year, against overwhelming odds. Some 13,000 international and national relief workers have been providing relief to more than 3 million people in Darfur and Chad. The success of their work can be measured in the thousands of lives saved, as mortality rates among displaced persons have dropped by two thirds over the past year. I want to pay tribute to the heroic work of those men and women.”
2005-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5331 (2005) · source
“President, for presiding over today's debate, which has been most important and valuable to me, to my team and to all of us humanitarian actors who are working together to do our part to protect civilians in need.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319Resumption1 (2005) · source
“All of us - Governments, parties to conflict, regional organizations, the Security Council, peacekeeping missions and we in the humanitarian community - need to do much more to implement those important resolutions so that we can improve our response to the ongoing protection concerns. At the same time, as I said in my opening statement, we now need a new resolution that reflects relevant developments over the past five years in order to guide and strengthen our future work in 2006 and beyond. I urge Council members to redouble their efforts to adopt not only a resolution, but a strong resolution, and to keep in the forefront of their minds the children, women and men suffering daily in conflict situations, for whom that resolution must make a concrete difference. Once again, I thank you, Mr.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319Resumption1 (2005) · source
“As my predecessor, Ambassador Oshima, stressed on behalf of Japan, that is not an easy task, and our progress in developing comprehensive information systems has been slower than I would have wished. We have established the parameters for a reporting framework, however, in agreement with the relevant United Nations agencies and departments, and have established links with many relevant academic research institutions. The next report of the Secretary-General will - I am sure, and I promise - show the fruit of that collaboration. The representative of the Russian Federation stressed the importance of ensuring the implementation of the first two Council resolutions on the protection of civilians in armed conflict: resolutions 1265 (1999) and 1296 (2000). I agree wholeheartedly that that is imperative.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319Resumption1 (2005) · source
“The new Central Emergency Response Fund, which we hope will be agreed very soon at the level of the General Assembly, will be a financial mechanism that can be used to allow early action to save lives and reduce the prospects of displacement, about which so many speakers raised concerns today. Other reforms - including the development of cluster leadership approaches among all humanitarian actors - will also enable us to respond more predictably where urgent needs for protection and humanitarian assistance exist. The importance of more accurate reporting to the Security Council was highlighted here today by a number of representatives of Member States. I, too, have underlined the importance of providing the Council with accurate global information.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319Resumption1 (2005) · source
“Because humanitarian access has increased in many areas, there is a need for protection activities and services. One such area - not mentioned today - is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where we have much better access than in previous years. We have provided medical and psychosocial support to women and children who have been raped; we have reunited children with their families; and we have helped people to obtain the documentation they need to gain access to basic services. As was recalled by the representative of Denmark, among others, we are developing a search protection standby capacity - PROCAP, as it is called. One-hundred people stand by to go anywhere in the world to carry out protection work as humanitarians and human rights workers.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319Resumption1 (2005) · source
“I think our neutrality has been strengthened by improved guidance and training with military forces in areas of civil-military cooperation to ensure a better understanding of the respective roles and responsibilities of military and civilian actors, to prevent a blurring of roles. Improved training for humanitarian coordinators and greater internal awareness within humanitarian organizations themselves have also reinforced humanitarian principles. We have also worked with Governments in areas affected by conflict to support them in their responsibilities and to clearly identify the protection needs of their populations. Moreover, as this debate underscored, the protection needs of civilians are still considerably greater than our capacity to meet those needs.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319Resumption1 (2005) · source
“The international community can begin to assist in addressing this only if there is sustained access by the international community to all the displaced, an access that of late has been reduced both in northern Uganda and in Darfur. It was mentioned in the debate that we in the humanitarian organizations must always observe humanitarian principles. Over the past five years humanitarian organizations have done considerably more to ensure the impartiality of humanitarian work and that we are always reaching those with the greatest needs in an impartial manner. We are improving the instruments at our disposal in line with relevant General Assembly resolutions in order always to respond impartially and to provide more predictable assistance wherever it is required.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319Resumption1 (2005) · source
“We condemn the senseless violence of the Lord's Resistance Army and its leader, Joseph Kony, but it must also be recognized that the problems created cannot be addressed solely by military means. The conflict has lasted for 19 years, and now all efforts must be used to reduce violence and save lives. I repeat that resources devoted to peacemaking, to the root causes of the conflict and to security efforts for the most vulnerable are totally inadequate. The recently documented death rates among displaced populations in northern Uganda are at crisis levels, considerably higher now than even those in Darfur, where effective humanitarian action has reduced mortality levels. However, Darfur is also a situation, described by the colleague from the United States, where developments are getting worse and where the protection crisis is deepening.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319Resumption1 (2005) · source
“Today once again we focused mainly on Africa and the unresolved African conflicts and protection crises. I also very much recall the situation reported by the Permanent Representative of the Government of Iraq. With 30,000 civilians killed, according to him, it is one of the most acute protection crises in the world today. It only serves to emphasize the scale and complexity of the problems facing us. I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the victims of conflict and violence in Iraq and in all the countries in Africa, in Asia, and the Middle East and Latin America, and elsewhere where we have protection problems. I am also pleased to hear that the Government of Uganda today repeated that a negotiated outcome is still on the table for northern Uganda, as was expressed by the Permanent Representative.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319Resumption1 (2005) · source
“Throughout the debate here today there was recognition of the needy to increase mechanisms for peacemaking and conflict prevention as one of the main tools for the protection of civilians. A number of countries - I recall China, Algeria, Egypt - emphasized the need to address the root causes of conflict and to end conflict. The importance of addressing the root causes of conflict and devoting greater efforts to conflict prevention cannot be understated. I think no one sees this more clearly than our humanitarian workers in the field. We see the importance of our work, but we also see its limits. As I said this morning, effective humanitarian action - keeping people alive - can never be an alibi for real efforts to end a conflict and provide security for those whom we feed and cloth and give emergency medical assistance.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319Resumption1 (2005) · source
“Mr. Egeland: I shall make a few concluding remarks. First, we are very grateful indeed for the many expressions of support through this long debate. This has been a year of disasters and conflicts like no other. We need your continued support and encouragement. We need you to help us help the people in the field do a better job in protecting civilians. I think this debate has underlined the importance of mainstreaming protection, providing a clear focus for future action in addressing some of the critical gaps in implementation. I am glad to hear that Council members feel that the Secretary-General's report contributes to the Council's developing a more strategic and systematic perspective.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319Resumption1 (2005) · source
“It requires sustained focus and a commitment to continually review the effects of security measures on the civilian population and to take measures to mitigate them. All of us - Governments, neighbouring States, regional organizations, the Security Council, peacekeeping missions and the humanitarian community - have an important role to play. I look forward to my continued engagement with the Council on this important issue in order to further enhance cooperation and strengthen measures to protect those who most need our help.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“This partnership must now be reinforced so that we can more effectively address the protracted suffering of civilians in armed conflict. The conflict situations that I have touched upon have serious regional consequences and constitute a possible threat to international peace and security. The conflict in northern Uganda, for instance, is now a regional problem and a threat that, in my view, the Security Council needs to address more systematically. I hope to be able to return to some of those issues in more detail in my forthcoming briefing on the humanitarian situation in Africa. The effective protection of civilians in situations of armed conflict requires stronger partnerships that systematically identify the various protection needs of civilians and who is best placed to address them.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“To this end, I welcome the efforts that have been made in the Sudan and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to establish incident-reporting systems, and I would encourage such systems to be established in other countries of concern. My office has already initiated links with academic institutions in order to gain a better understanding of global trends and to inform future reports to the Council. Thirdly and finally, as I said earlier, much more emphasis and support needs to be devoted to peacemaking, and all peacemaking efforts must reflect the protection needs of the civilian population. Those involved in peacemaking and mediation efforts are the natural partners of the humanitarian community in ensuring that the impact of conflict and violence comes to an end.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“I thank the United Kingdom presidency for its role in facilitating negotiations on a new resolution, and I urge the Council to ensure that the strongest possible language is adopted. The eyes and ears of the world community, including human rights and humanitarian workers, are on the Council. This is not a time to weaken our joint resolve to protect those who need protection most. Secondly, we need to improve the collation of empirical data for both situation-specific and global trend analysis to facilitate the Council's deliberations and decision-making. It is important that the Council be properly informed about the nature and extent of protection needs in countries of concern so that its response can be better tailored to the specific needs of the population.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“We must make the world summit's commitment to peacemaking and mediation an early reality, and we must prioritize peacemaking efforts where there are serious humanitarian consequences. The Secretary-General, in his recently released report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict (S/2005/740), provides a five-year perspective on the changing environment of conflict. As I conclude, I would like to underscore three of the recommendations for action contained in that report, which is before the Council today. First, the current framework needs to be updated to reflect the current environment of conflict and the latest developments and best practice in providing protection to civilians in armed conflict. Five years after the previous resolution on the protection of civilians, we need a new resolution to guide our future work.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“We cannot but applaud courageous individuals such as Mrs. Betty Bigombe, who continues to try to find ways to engage with the LRA in order to save lives and explore opportunities for peace, despite inconsistent financial and political support. At the same time, the Government of Uganda must do more to fulfil its responsibilities to its people in the north. We now have an opportunity to finally put the Secretary-General's good offices and mediation capacity on a more robust and professional footing, as supported by the 2005 world summit. Mediation efforts have for too long been a missing link. We need increased and predictable mediation efforts that ensure that the protection concerns of the population are taken into account.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“The conflict in northern Uganda has obvious regional dimensions, with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) crossing the borders into southern Sudan and the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, disrupting return efforts, interrupting aid efforts and destabilizing the region. The broad international support for the peace process in southern Sudan is now, at long last, allowing refugees and displaced persons to return to their home communities. For how much longer can we tolerate the inadequacy of the resources given to resolving the conflict in northern Uganda? That conflict that has gone on for 19 years, with minimal resources allocated to peacemaking, A solely military solution there is not possible. Efforts to end the violence and to secure the safety of the population through negotiations must be dramatically strengthened.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“The band-aid approach costs lives and ultimately costs the international community dearly in both moral and financial terms. Many violent conflicts have persisted for years on end without sufficient efforts devoted to peacemaking, and they become more complex and difficult to resolve with each passing day, as we have seen in Somalia, Cote d'Ivoire and northern Uganda. The colossal toll on the civilian population and the many wasted opportunities for peace become tragically clear in hindsight. In northern Uganda, for instance, it would have been unthinkable several years ago that we would allow tens of thousands of children to be mutilated, killed, raped, tortured, abducted and forcibly recruited.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“A humanitarian response cannot be effective without adequate security conditions and a safe and secure operating environment. How much can 13,000 humanitarian workers in Darfur achieve, for example, when their movements are restricted due to threats, harassment and attacks? The mere presence of aid workers in the region does not ensure assistance and protection. The presence of aid workers should therefore never be used as an alibi to camouflage the absence of genuine efforts to find lasting political solutions. Year in and year out, we are unable to undertake adequate humanitarian programmes in severe emergencies because no coherent and systematic attempts are made to end the conflict. We become an expensive plaster on an open, unhealed wound.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“As the Security Council has consistently stressed, all parties must guarantee the safety, security and freedom of movement of United Nations and associated personnel, as well as personnel of humanitarian organizations. In that connection, I welcome the General Assembly's adoption yesterday of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel. The new Protocol expands the application of the Convention to the implementing partners of the United Nations agencies - those delivering humanitarian, political or development assistance in peacebuilding or delivering emergency humanitarian assistance. I urge the Council's support in promoting the ratification of the new Protocol and the Convention itself, which to date has received only 79 ratifications.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“Statistics from the United Nations Department of Safety and Security reveal startling increases in incidents against United Nations personnel over the past 12 months. Assaults, for example, have increased from 120 in 2004 to 407 in 2005, and kidnappings have increased from two to 20. Incidents of harassment and delays at checkpoints in the occupied Palestinian territories have numbered in the thousands every year. We hope that the United Nations role in tracking progress in the implementation of the recent Israeli- Palestinian Agreement on Access and Movement will have a positive impact on overall access and freedom of movement there.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“Humanitarian workers must be able to negotiate with all actors with influence or control over territory in which populations are in need of assistance and protection. In line with the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence, such negotiations will in no way imply recognition or legitimization of the non-State actor concerned. Humanitarian personnel increasingly find themselves exposed to threats, violent attacks, kidnappings for ransom and ambushes. In the month of October alone, 10 humanitarians were killed in northern Uganda and the Sudan, while in Afghanistan, five medical aid workers were killed and three seriously wounded when their vehicle was attacked.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“The host families face economic difficulties that, combined with the climate of impunity, have led to sexual exploitation, prostitution and forced child labour. Immediate action is needed in order to avert a further deterioration in the situation in Cote d'Ivoire. Obstructed or restricted humanitarian access remains a key concern in most conflict areas around the world. Poor security is tantamount to denying access. I wish to recall the Security Council's statement in resolution 1296 (2000) concerning the need for all parties, including non-State entities, to cooperate fully with the United Nations humanitarian coordinator and the humanitarian agencies in providing access. To facilitate such access, based on the support of the Council, my office will soon launch a manual on humanitarian negotiation with non-State actors in armed conflict.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“Security measures in northern Uganda must not add to the suffering of the civilian population, and while people remain displaced, they must be able to engage in economic activity and maintain their capacity to return to normal lives and livelihoods. That requires increased commitments from both the humanitarian and the donor communities, as well as a commitment from the Government to implement its own policy on the internally displaced. The displacement of populations is not necessarily linked to camps. Equally difficult challenges exist when those who have been displaced are merged with local communities, which then must bear the main burden. In Cote d'Ivoire, for example, the majority of the 500,000 people displaced live with host families and therefore easily fall outside safety nets and beyond the reach of humanitarian organizations.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“More than 50 per cent of the world's 23 million displaced are found in just three countries: the Sudan, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There is now a danger that long-term displacement in Darfur will become entrenched, with a real risk of compounding an already desperate situation. We must not allow Darfur to become tomorrow's northern Uganda, where over a generation of displacement has resulted in exploding mortality rates and eroded social structures. Normal life is foreign to an entire generation. Long-term displacement is pernicious. Long-term displacement kills. It kills people. It kills societies. We must make every effort to speed the return of people to their normal lives.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“For children abducted and recruited by the Lord's Resistance Army, adequate resources to allow for appropriate reintegration are needed urgently, particularly to help girls deal with their serious reintegration challenges. Efforts by peacekeeping missions to provide physical security for civilians under imminent threat of physical violence need to be augmented by concrete measures to facilitate a secure environment more generally. It is vital that multidimensional peacekeeping missions work to improve the overall security situation. Working closely with the African Union and other regional and intergovernmental organizations towards that objective is crucial. Violence directed against civilians continues to trigger high levels of population displacement.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“We need to adopt and implement firm measures to combat the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, to control and reduce the illicit traffic in those weapons, including at the local level, and to involve ex-combatants and local communities, in particular women, in the collection and destruction of small arms and in demining. Two years ago, I gave my first briefing to the Council on the grave situation in northern Uganda. Sadly, widespread physical violence, including night attacks on villages and camps, killings and forced recruitment, remain just a few of the perils still faced by civilians, particularly children, in northern Uganda.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“Stronger action to restore and build the capacity of law enforcement and justice systems is critical. Improving the security situation in the longer term requires firmer action in relation to disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and rehabilitation (DDRR). Lack of adequate and sustained funding for DDRR activities should not become the reason for which fragile countries slip back into conflict. The provision of economic and social support to local communities that shoulder the burden of providing reintegration assistance is crucial. We must ensure that all children and women associated with armed forces and groups, as well as issues related to women and children, are systematically included in every DDRR process. The high prevalence of small arms, light and easy even for a child to use, perpetuates that cycle of violence.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“It is alarming that, in some situations, the very structures that should protect civilians - the military and law enforcement authorities - are, instead, committing violent crimes. In some areas - in Cote d'Ivoire, for example - Government-controlled militias and Force nouvelles troops have both been responsible for killings, rapes and other human rights violations. In some parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the joint military forces and armed groups linked to the Government have attacked villages and carried out extortion, looting and kidnapping for ransom. Perhaps most disturbing is the widespread sexual violence and abuse of women and girls. The problems caused by having 50,000 unpaid soldiers demonstrate the long-enduring legacies of armed conflict.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“Continued long-term conflicts have eroded social support structures. A prevailing culture of impunity has continued to spur cycles of violence and criminality. Millions of people have been denied life-saving humanitarian assistance. In many situations, humanitarian actors have been operating in a less secure environment, where deliberate attacks have been steadily increasing. I would like to address some of those key protection concerns in more detail and to draw on current situations to illustrate those concerns. Over the past six years, civilians have continued to bear not only the devastating side effects of armed conflict, but often have been deliberately targeted by parties to conflict, both non-State actors and Government military forces alike.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“Improving the situation for civilians in armed conflict requires continuous engagement by the relevant Governments, the Security Council and the providers of humanitarian assistance and protection. Despite the progress I have just outlined, however, that engagement is too often inadequate, and grave areas of concern persist. Stark and disturbing evidence that civilians continue to bear the brunt of armed conflicts has emanated from a broad range of conflicts over the past six years. In too many instances, civilians have been subjected to extreme violence. Indeed, our greatest challenge is how best to address the unconscionable acts of sexual and other forms of physical violence perpetrated against civilians. Forced population displacement has continued to be either a by-product or a deliberate strategy of warfare.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“I would also like to congratulate the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement for the historic agreement on a third protective emblem. Finally, efforts to deter war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide and efforts to break the prevailing culture of impunity in situations of armed conflict have been boosted by the establishment of the International Criminal Court. The Court's investigations in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Darfur region of the Sudan, as well as the indictments already issued, should provide hope to the traumatized civilian populations in those countries and elsewhere that the unconscionable crimes committed against them will not go unpunished.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“In September last year, more than 30 States took more than 100 treaty actions during the 2004 treaty event on the protection of civilians. Yet, it is disturbing to note that only 13 of the 26 countries in which there is currently an armed conflict are party to Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions. Additional Protocol II is most relevant to the non- international conflicts with which we are mostly confronted, and its importance must be fully appreciated. I also wish to underline the importance of the continuing work of the International Committee of the Red Cross - which is represented in this meeting - in promoting the key instruments of international humanitarian law, and I pay tribute to its work in that core area of its mandate.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“Thirdly, we have seen strengthened humanitarian assistance and response by United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations to the needs of civilians in conflict. That humanitarian action has helped to reduce conflict-related deaths, including death through malnutrition and disease, and to shield innocent children, women and men from some of the worst side effects of armed conflict. There is an important connection between protection and humanitarian action, and agencies have become increasingly aware of the protection aspects of humanitarian relief. We in the humanitarian community must continue to strengthen our capacities to respond where we have the access to do so. Fourthly, an increasing number of countries have signed and ratified the relevant international legal instruments.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source
“Moreover, the Security Council's sharpened focus on key protection concerns draws global attention to those issues and reinforces a stronger culture of protection. Secondly, the enhanced engagement by regional and subregional organizations has made a real difference on the ground, as demonstrated by the African Union's appointment of a special representative, the timely deployment by the European Union of its rapid reaction forces to Ituri, the deployment of the Economic Community of West African States' Mission in Liberia (ECOMIL) and the African Union's deployment of its peacekeeping mission in Darfur. It is critical that the necessary financial and other support be provided to regional and subregional organizations to enable them to effectively contribute to the protection of civilians in armed conflict.”
2005-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5319 (2005) · source