YouSaid · the spoken record

Lieutenant General Subramanian

lines on the record: 28
first: 2023-07-28
most recent: 2023-07-28
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: un-security-council

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“Further, in terms of our patrols and engagement teams, coordination at the grass-roots level is sought after with the communities. All of that together helps us in our goal to build trust, faith in and respect for each other as well as to foster an understanding of our objectives and our operations. I think I have covered most of the questions that have been addressed with respect to South Sudan. If I have missed anything, I am ready to take the floor again and answer any further questions. That said, I think I have covered all the questions posed to me.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“We therefore continuously try to push the envelope, and we are working with the host Government on every access denial that takes place in order to move forward and ensure that any necessary movement is not denied or hindered in future. In terms of winning the trust of local governments and the local population, again we rely on engagement at various levels, including at the highest level, namely, between the Mission and the Government of South Sudan. We hold a monthly high-level agenda coordination meeting with the Foreign Minister and senior functionaries of the Defence Ministry and ministries relevant to our task. There is a similar meeting exclusively between the force and the Ministry of Defence. We also replicate these forums at the state level.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“We just had this annual meeting on 18 July. Similarly, we have forums at the regional level. We have multiple quarterly forums in which we try to engage the armed factions of Government and opposition forces, in particular, so as to provide an environment conducive to the protection of civilians. One of the primary factors that affects us and for which we need this engagement is the freedom of movement — over land, on the Nile River and in the air. In our context, this is something that is engaging our attention. While numbers would indicate there has been an improvement on this in South Sudan, there are critical areas where we wish to go in conflict situations where there are access denials.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“We have to be conscious of the fact that not all parties to a conflict are neutral, so our engagement has to be suitably fine-tuned to ensure that we are engaging the most neutral partners. As far as those who are engaged in the conflict in some way or the other, we deal with them as per the requirement of the protection of civilians. We are supposed to act against violence in any form, without regard to the source of such violence. We are therefore very conscious of the importance of identifying the source of the violence. To that end, we have certain formal forums within the Mission. Once a year, we get all the divisional commanders and all leaders of armed factions to Juba, the capital of the country, wherein we discuss all issues relevant to the protection of civilians, including freedom of movement, in a transparent manner.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“In addition, I do think that, in a certain way, we are making an impact on the host Governments by setting examples of behaviour and conduct as a professional military force. We provide force protection for the activities of various actors in a range of political and substantive actions, and we support engagements under all of the pillars in terms of protection and in providing an enabling environment. That is the contribution we can make — and which we are making — to sustainable peace during and after transitions. How do we adapt our strategy and tactics to engage local actors and armed groups and the host Government forces in order to have a comprehensive approach in support of the protection of civilians? That is indeed what we are striving for.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“I think that is what all our integrated missions are doing, and I think military components have a major contribution to make not only in Tier 2 but also in Tiers 1 and 3. Nevertheless, we understand that, as a Council member remarked earlier, the protection of civilians is an intermediate objective in the overall political objectives of a mission. Even so, it is a very important intermediate objective, and it is one on which we are all focusing. How can military components contribute to a whole-of-mission approach during and after transitions to ensure stability? Clearly, we all understand the primacy of politics in building sustainable peace in the countries in which we are operating. To that end, the force is contributing to security sector reform and capacity-building and training of the host Government’s security forces.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“In this way, we avoid excessive overlap in such engagement, and our efforts synergistically add up to value. Similarly, in Tier 3, which is to create an environment conducive to the protection of civilians, we all work together, with coordination being ensured at Mission headquarters, by the Mission chief of staff in particular. In Tier 2, the force naturally has a predominant role to play, which is in providing physical protection, and in this regard, we are also not alone. Physical protection is coordinated with various partners and with the police in particular, as well as the host Government, armed factions of opposition groups and other actors relevant in this regard. The whole-of-mission approach is therefore not just an idea, but the only way to go for the protection of civilians.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“In that regard, AI can be useful in ensuring the provision of immediate and efficient medical care before getting the patient to the appropriate medical authority. How can military components contribute to a whole-of-mission approach? Indeed, we are already doing so. The complete protection-of-civilians strategy in our Mission — and I think in all missions — is a whole-of- mission strategy with Tiers 1, 2 and 3 actions. The force is a predominant player in Tier 2, which involves physical protection, and in Tier 1 and 3 we have a role to play along with others. Tier 1, of course, involves the engagement with leadership and communities; the forces are involved, as are all substantive sections. This engagement is collectively coordinated by the Mission chief of staff.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“In answer to the question on artificial intelligence (AI) and its relevance to future peacekeeping, I definitely think that, in terms of threat monitoring, analysing the empirical data available, extrapolating trends of violence and doing a sort of forecasting of conflicts will help forces in all missions. Developing situational awareness can also be enhanced with incorporation of AI. Training in combat simulation and helping the troop-contributing countries in their predeployment training and in-mission training can also realistically achieve more meaningful results through AI. Another area where AI can be useful is health care, where we are now pioneering certain aspects of telemedicine to cover areas not covered by the 10-1-2 doctrine.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“We have the Situational Awareness Geospatial Enterprise platform wherein all actors— the force, the police, the civil affairs advisers, the political affairs advisers — provide inputs that are entered into the system and made seamlessly available to all of us. This provides much better early warning than the previous system we used. The system is being improved continuously but the United Nations is working to replace it with a new system called Unite Aware, which, when it comes through, will provide even better early warning. In terms of base-defence technology, our closed-circuit television cameras generate input that is collated on a central platform, which also helps.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“Within the first 20 minutes of the first shot that was fired, 17 people, all armed, were killed, but in the next 15 minutes to an hour or so, the force managed to place itself between the clashing communities and separate them, and, fortunately, the situation has remained stable ever since. That is largely our strategy for protection-of-civilians camps and internally displaced persons sites. There are priority areas of protection, and this is how we do it. On the question of use of technology and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the benefit of a mission, as of now a common data platform is used across most United Nations missions. Ours is no exception.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“And they are also inside those IDP sites and protection-of-civilians camps, despite the security that has been provided to them over the years. Because of that factor, whenever a clash breaks out in any of them, an immediate burst of casualties is very difficult to avoid. Our efforts are greatly focused on the containment of those casualties. How have we devised our procedures for that? Upon being warned of a possible imminent clash, the force tries to use its quick reaction forces to show its presence, first, by firing in the air and thereafter quickly move in between the communities that are clashing and try to segregate the armed actors in the violence and thereby ensure that the violence subsides. That is what we did in the Malakal protection-of-civilians camp.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“Those are two communities that had always existed in reasonable harmony, but in the past six to seven months, owing to various factors outside the protection-of-civilians camp, a fault line developed between the communities, and therefore there was an indication that there could be trouble in the protection-of-civilians camp as well. Those are essentially humanitarian complexes where people are provided protection, as well as a modicum of security, and provided the requisite humanitarian support to carry on with their lives. They are not essentially military fortresses. The problem endemic to South Sudan is the proliferation of weapons. Weapons are in villages, communities and cattle herds with shepherds.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“In contrast, the protection-of-civilians camp that we manage in Malakal is entirely in our management. In normal times, it is managed by the United Nations police, and when, for some reason, a situation goes beyond their control, it is handed over to the force so that the conflict situation can be take care of seamlessly. With regard to the protection-of-civilians site in Malakal, which is under the management of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, one month ago, there were approximately 42,000 people there primarily from two main communities — approximately 35,000 from the Shilluk community and approximately 7,000 from the Nuer community.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“Therefore, we are prepared for all eventualities. All our units are keeping track of the new returnees in the respective states and are ensuring that we remain in contact in terms of patrolling and in community engagement so that we are on top of any security development with respect to their arrivals. In terms of our protection-of-civilians sites and internally displaced person (IDP) sites and the comments on recent developments, I wish to state that a large number of displaced people in South Sudan stay in IDP sites. What we call “IDP sites” are sites in which displaced people are gathered. Those sites and their security are under the management of the South Sudanese Government, but we are prepared and stand deployed to react to any external threat of physical violence to the inmates of those IDP sites.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“There is frustration about not getting relocated quickly enough to the villages, and therefore there is a situation developing there which we are handling in terms of reinforcing our presence in that area, conducting patrols and coordinating all agencies, funds and programmes that are working there, and trying to work with the local government, as well as the national Government, to decongest that location as soon as possible. We have had some success. Right now, the number of people who are coming into Renk and the number of people being decongested from Renk are almost the same, therefore we have sort of controlled the situation. However, at the same time we are conscious of the fact that what is essentially a humanitarian situation now can develop into a security dimension very shortly and very quickly.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“Lieutenant General Subramanian: I will attempt to answer the various questions posed specifically about the South Sudanese context, as well as about what is generally applicable to us. With regard to the specific questions, I think the first question was about how we cope with the impact of the Sudan situation in the already tenuous situation that we find in South Sudan. We are definitely concerned about the number of refugees and returnees returning to South Sudan from the Sudan. As of now, we there are about 200,000 who have arrived. They have arrived predominantly in the Upper Nile state in a location of ours where we have a base called Renk. Renk is a town that previously had a population of about 100,000 and today has a population of over 200,000. So, there is definitely congestion there. There is a contest for resources.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“With those few aspects to highlight, I end with the assurance to the Security Council that UNMISS stands in full earnestness and sincerity to ensure the implementation of its mandate. It also stands in sincerity to correct its mistakes in every operation and improve its responses further, in tune with the overall guidance of United Nations Headquarters and the Security Council.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“There, our protection-of-civilians actions took the form of building a 25-kilometre dike system of between six feet and nine feet, and continuously monitoring it and preventing the threat to life from any accidental flooding. On 8 and 9 October 2022, a breach was discovered by one of our patrols — a breach of 21 metres by nine metres — from which the water was entering the IDP site in great force, such that even heavy engineering equipment could not reach the breach. However, all UNMISS personnel at that location, military and civilian, as well as the communities, stood together in a human chain, ensured they reached the breach, filled sandbags and closed the breach, in an action that I estimate saved at least 40,000 infirm, old and mobility- impaired internally displaced persons in the camp.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“Enhancing freedom of movement is a continuous priority action for UNMISS to ensure that we are able to dynamically respond to protection-of-civilians challenges, for which we have set up mechanisms at the national and local levels for ensuring freedom of movement on land and by river and air. We follow up systematically with the South Sudanese authorities for every access denial that we encounter. It is not necessarily only by the use of arms and military means that we ensure physical protection of civilians in South Sudan. In a peculiar situation in Unity state in South Sudan, the state witnessed unprecedented flooding that the country had not seen in the past six decades. More than 177,000 displaced persons congregated in the town of Bentiu, which is the capital of Unity state.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“We strengthened that base and ensured the protection of, again, approximately 18,000 civilians. In the case of a clash that broke out in the Malakal protection-of-civilians camp very recently, in the month of June, our effort was to drive a wedge between the clashing communities. Our quick reaction force team interposed itself between the two warring communities and contained the conflict and the casualties. As I said, that sort of option for a protection-of-civilians response is chosen based on the salience of which option provides us with the opportunity to protect the maximum number of civilians.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“For example, during the conflict between September and November 2022 in Upper Nile state, we took the option of protecting the village of Kodok, which we thought was the next logical objective of the attackers and where the maximum number of civilians would congregate. We reinforced that location. We guided the fleeing civilians from the zone of conflict in the neighbourhood, got them to gather at Kodok and protected them. I would like to think that we thereby prevented the attack and protected the lives of more than 18,200 IDPs who had gathered near our base. In the case of the Greater Pibor administrative area, where a conflict broke out in December 2022, we took the option of protecting fleeing civilians from that conflict zone, protecting them and getting them to safety at the nearest UNMISS base, which was at Pibor.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“Conflict prevention is definitely the best method of ensuring the protection of civilians. However, the impact of how our conflict prevention methods have worked is very difficult to assess. It is an intangible aspect and difficult to measure or perceive. However, it is that very impact that we constantly strive to strengthen. With that in view, we continuously conduct reviews of our actions before and during conflicts and also receive guidance from United Nations Headquarters to facilitate the fine-tuning of our protection-of-civilians efforts. We attach considerable importance to the salience of the protection of a maximum number of civilians.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“Very often, it is a decision dilemma for the commanders on the ground to adopt some, all or perhaps one of the options, depending on the situation and resources available. We constantly train our ground commanders to take those decisions most efficiently by keeping the fundamental principle in mind, which is to select the option that gives the opportunity to protect the maximum number of civilians. We ensure that leadership visits are conducted before and during the conflict in order to fine-tune the conflict, enhance the morale of soldiers, inspire confidence, engage local leaders to prevent an escalation of the conflict and ensure dynamic and proactive actions. We also continuously endeavour to adapt the mindset of all our soldiers in tune with our mandate.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“Where we do not have requisite early warning and clashes take place, we also react through strong patrols and with a firm response to those conflicts and clashes that take place, adopting all or either of the options that I will talk about now, based on the situation and available resources. That can be to deploy in or near the conflict location; interpose or intervene between clashing armed factions, segregate them and contain the conflict; deploy to protect civilians, who, in large numbers, may be fleeing from the conflict zone and guide them to the nearest UNMISS base, wherein we can protect them better and start humanitarian support; or visualize what is the next immediate objective of the attackers and deploy there to prevent an escalation of the conflict.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“It includes pre-planned deployment in certain areas, which are identified as conflict-prone, dynamic deployment of temporary operating bases and long- and short-duration patrols in locations in which early warning is used for imminent conflicts. It includes deployment of quick-reaction forces teams for the defence of identified protection-of-civilians camps and internally displaced persons (IDP) camps and sites in the country. It includes active patrolling of our area of responsibility in order to show presence, to inspire confidence and develop and promote a sense of security among the population.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“In pursuing UNMISS’s whole-of-mission strategy, the force conducts its protection-of-civilians operations in close cooperation with the police and substantive sections of the Mission, and in partnership with international partners, humanitarian actors, the United Nations country team, the communities we serve and the host Government and its army and police. I shall brief the Council on certain practical aspects of protection-of-civilians operations, conducted by the UNMISS force. It ranges from engagement of the authorities of the Government of South Sudan, including that of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, at the national and local levels, to enlist their proactive actions to prevent conflicts.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source
“Lieutenant General Subramanian: I wish everyone a very good morning. I am grateful for this opportunity to brief the Security Council on the perspectives of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), particularly on how the force conducts its protection-of-civilians operations. Without prejudice to the primary responsibility of the Government of South Sudan for the protection of its own citizens, the protection of civilians remains the overarching priority for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan in furthering the implementation of the mandate.”
2023-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9389 (2023) · source