In 2022, the UN recorded a 53 per cent increase in the number of civilians killed across 12 armed conflicts, from Sudan to Ukraine.

Here are five reasons why strengthening the protection of civilians is imperative.

1. Minimize civilian harm

Armed conflicts result in civilian deaths, injuries, and psychological wounds. In 2022, nearly 94 per cent of the victims of explosive weapons used in populated areas were civilians in 17 conflict-affected countries and territories.

Conflicts lead to the destruction of homes, schools, healthcare facilities, water installations, and other essential infrastructure. When critical infrastructure is destroyed or damaged, this disrupts essential services such as water, electricity, and healthcare, causing even more suffering. Populations flee, unable return home for years.

2. Prevent and address hunger and famine

Conflict and insecurity were the most significant drivers of high levels of acute food insecurity for around 117 million people in 19 countries and territories in 2022.

Crops were destroyed, livestock stolen, land spoiled, roads blocked, and farmers driven from their fields. Livelihoods were lost while food prices increased sharply.

3. Protect vulnerable groups

Women, children, and people with disabilities are affected by conflict in different ways, and ensuring their protection is critical.

In 2022, women and girls accounted for at least 95 per cent of victims of documented sexual violence. Children were abducted, recruited, and used in hostilities, and deprived of an education. Persons with disabilities were trapped in hostilities and unable to access food, water, healthcare, or humanitarian assistance.

© UNOCHA/Ali Haji Suleiman

A girl helps her sister on their way home from school in Idlib, Syria.

4. Ensure safe access for humanitarians

Humanitarians faced many overlapping challenges in their efforts to reach populations most in need.

Hostilities, explosive ordnance, bureaucratic impediments, States’ sanctions, and counter-terrorism measures slowed or stalled humanitarian activities, leaving people without the essentials they need.

In addition, they face attacks against them. Reports show that humanitarian workers have been killed or injured, and have faced other threats, including looting and kidnapping. Misinformation and disinformation have also undermined trust and have created security risks for humanitarians.

5. Prevent forced displacement and find durable solutions

Last year, the number of people forcibly displaced due to conflict, violence, human rights violations, and persecution exceeded an alarming 100 million.

Even after fleeing violence, people were still not safe. They faced more violence, explosive hazards, and limited access to essential services. Displaced persons faced greater difficulties accessing food, a difficulty that increased with the number of times they were displaced.

What must be done?

OCHA says protection measures must be improved and has underlined, the need for all States and parties to a conflict to incorporate international humanitarian law into their legislation, military manuals, and training.

They must also adopt specific protections for vulnerable persons, such as children and persons with disabilities, and should join the new Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas.

Calling on States to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access and the protection of all aid workers and supplies, OCHA said they should also ensure that their sanctions and counter-terrorism measures do not negatively impact the delivery of assistance.

The Protection of Civilians Week is a platform for bringing the voices of victims of armed conflict to New York and actively listening to what they have to say and need, providing an opportunity to forge connections and share knowledge and solutions.

Learn more about the Protection of Civilians Week 2023 here.

WFP had paused distributions in the restive Tigray region in the north after finding evidence of significant supplies on sale in local markets, and immediately launched an investigation.

Over 20 million people are in dire need of food assistance in Ethiopia, where communities continue to be affected by the impact of prolonged conflict and a historic drought across the Horn of Africa.

Zero tolerance policy

“WFP has zero tolerance for theft or diversion that prevents critical food from reaching the hungry families who need it to survive. Those found responsible must be held accountable,” Executive Director Cindy McCain said in a statement.

“We are committed to doing everything it takes to guarantee that food assistance benefits the people who need it most,” she added.

Targeting and tracking

The WFP plan will be enacted across all its operations in Ethiopia. Actions include implementing real-time food security and needs assessments, strengthening targeting and management of beneficiary lists and identity checks, and reinforcing tracking to follow food movements from warehouses to beneficiaries.

The Nobel Prize-winning agency will also work closely with Ethiopian regional and national authorities, and with partners, to implement needed reforms so that urgent food assistance can resume in Tigray and supports intended beneficiaries nationwide.

‘Actively assessing’

“Taking food away from the starving is unacceptable, whether in Ethiopia or anywhere else in the world,” said Ms. McCain. 

“WFP is actively assessing all high-risk country operations to ensure stringent processes are in place so that our assistance makes it to the millions and millions of hungry people who depend on us.”

The UN chief was speaking during a debate on ensuring the security and dignity of people caught in the crossfire and addressing the related issue of access to food and essential services. 

Suffering and ‘outrage’ 

“Civilians have suffered the deadly effects of armed conflict for too long.  It is time we live up to our promise to protect them,” said Mr. Guterres, who also called for action “to break the deadly cycle of armed conflict and hunger.” 

Last year, civilians accounted for 94 per cent of victims of explosive weapons deployed in populated areas, he said.  

More than 117 million people worldwide also faced acute hunger in 2022, primarily because of war and insecurity, which he described as “an outrage”. 

Easing the impact 

He pointed to recent action towards alleviating the impact of conflict on civilians. For example, some warring parties have taken steps to protect children and allow humanitarians to access people in need. 

Addressing food security, he mentioned measures such as the Black Sea Initiative to export grain from Ukraine amid the ongoing war, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding on bringing Russian food and fertilizer to global markets. 

Last November, States adopted a political declaration on restricting or refraining from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, which he urged all countries to join.

The Council also adopted a resolution the following month which aims to prevent UN sanctions from harming civilians and obstructing humanitarian action. 

Call for action 

“These modest steps are welcome. But the terrible truth is that the world is failing to live up to its commitments to protect civilians; commitments enshrined in international humanitarian law,” said Mr. Guterres, referring to the Geneva Conventions. 

“We need action and accountability to ensure it is respected. That depends on political will,” he added. 

The Secretary-General urged the international community to intensify efforts to prevent conflict, protect civilians, preserve peace and find political solutions to war.  

Security Council’s ‘particular responsibility’

“Where war continues, all countries must comply with international humanitarian law and members of this Council have a particular responsibility,” he said. 

He urged Governments to incorporate international humanitarian law into their own laws, and military rules and training, adding that humanitarians also must be assured safe access and attacks against them must cease. 

The Council has a special role to play in urging States to respect the rules of war, he said.  Governments with influence over warring parties should engage in political dialogue, and train forces on better protecting civilians.  

Additionally, countries that export weapons should refuse to do business with any party that fails to comply with international humanitarian law. 

Furthermore, those who commit war crimes must be held to account.  “States must investigate alleged war crimes, prosecute perpetrators and enhance other States’ capacity to do so,” he said. 

Rise in conflict 

In his remarks, the Secretary-General paid tribute to the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the “guardians” of the Geneva Conventions. 

ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric, who also briefed the Council, reported that non-international armed conflicts have more than tripled over the past two decades – from less than 30 to over 90. 

She issued an urgent call to protect civilians and critical infrastructure in urban areas. 

“As fighting envelops towns and cities, such as in Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, the ICRC is seeing large-scale and compounding patterns of harm.  We need to break the pattern of violations, and this can be done through strong political will and sustained action” she said. 

Ms. Spoljaric also spoke of the threat posed by misinformation and disinformation during conflict, which can fuel dangerous community divisions and undermine humanitarian action. 

She also underscored that civilian protection covers everyone, regardless of gender.  

In this regard, ICRC recommendations include ensuring that the clear prohibition of sexual violence under international humanitarian law is integrated into national laws, military doctrine and training. 

No women, no peace 

Civil society representative Aichatou Mounkaila from Niger delivered a message to the Council on behalf of women in the Lake Chad Basin region in Africa, where attacks by Boko Haram insurgents and other armed groups have displaced millions. 

Speaking in French, she said women are the first victims of any crisis but they also are the first to provide solutions. 

Ms. Mounkaila outlined five points that could inform the Council’s approach to ending conflict and hunger.  Action includes encouraging donors to allocate more funding to gender-sensitive livelihood reconstruction in areas such as sustainable agriculture, where women play a central role, so that they can rebuild their lives and communities.  

She also urged the Council to insist on the full, equal, and meaningful participation and leadership of women and girls at all levels of humanitarian response, community dialogues, peacebuilding and peace negotiations. 

“Without women, no sustainable peace is possible,” she insisted.   

This is the highest rate of mental health need ever recorded, across UNRWA’s medical system.

UNRWA’s health programmes support some two million Palestine refugees across Jordan, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory composed of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza, as well as in Syria.

Immensely challenging year

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Dr. Akihiro Seita, UNRWA’s Director of Health, highlighted the “immense challenges” faced by the agency’s health programmes in the past year: in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, he listed the devastating cholera outbreak in Syria and Lebanon, regional turbulence and UNRWA’s ongoing funding crisis.

He stressed that UNRWA health centres in Gaza and the occupied West Bank continue to provide vital healthcare amid hostilities.

Eight million seen

Last year, the UN agency managed to provide around eight million medical consultations.

That includes around 300,000 people living with diabetes and hypertension or non-communicable diseases and also 90,000 pregnant mothers”, said Dr. Seita.

Out of the 5.9 million registered Palestine refugees, it is estimated that 3.2 million are registered at UNRWA centres, and receive health services free of charge. The number of consultations increased by 12.4 percent compared to 2021.

In 2022, UNRWA’s health programmes successfully combated a resurgence of cholera in the refugee camps in Lebanon, in addition to the highly infectious Omicron strain of COVID-19.

Furthermore, UNRWA health centres in Gaza and the occupied West Bank provided vital health care amid the on-going hostilities.

Airstrikes, violence continues

“Last week, we had armed conflict in Gaza but still all 22 health centres stayed open and provided critical primary healthcare service and fifty percent of the staff continued to attend,” emphasized Dr. Seita.

Currently, it is estimated that 3.2 million or 53.9 per cent of Palestinian refugees still heavily rely on UNRWA services due to economic hardship, high unemployment rates, and worsening poverty levels, especially in conflict areas.

Around a third of registered Palestinian refugees reside in 58 official refugee camps, living side-by-side among host countries’ communities.

Gender-based violence increasing

UNRWA manages 240 health centers with more than 3,000 staff that provide a comprehensive range of primary healthcare.

“Gender-based violence is also on the rise. That is our main concern and worry”, said Dr. Seita. “At the same time, children are suffering not only mentally, but also physically.”

Mental health is another of UNRWA’s health priorities. According to Dr. Seita, patients in Gaza have the highest detection rate at 26.4 per cent. In 2021, around 15,000 people needed psychosocial support.

Over the span of seven decades of displacement, the number of Palestine refugees has increased from 750,000 in 1950, to 5.9 million in 2022.

In Myanmar, the UN appealed on Tuesday for $333 million to assist 1.6 million of the most vulnerable people, many of whom have lost their homes as the cyclone hit the west of the country over a week ago.

The UN’s top aid official in the country, Ramanathan Balakrishnan, told reporters in Geneva that the disaster had left hundreds of thousands without a roof over their heads as the monsoon looms.

Among the priorities is providing people with safe shelter and preventing the outbreak and spread of water-borne diseases.

1.6 million in Myanmar in need of aid

With coastal winds recorded at up to 250 kilometres per hour making landfall off the Bay of Bengal on 14 May, Mocha brought flooding and landslides to an area that is home to hundreds of thousands already displaced by the protracted conflict in Myanmar, many of them the Rohingya minority of Rakhine state.

The UN appeal requests an “urgent injection” of funds to support those in the highest impact zone across Rakhine, Chin, Magway, Sagaing and Kachin states.

Speaking via Zoom from Yangon, Mr. Balakrishnan, who is the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Myanmar, said that the 1.6 million people identified for support under the new funding appeal include “people who have lost their homes, people who lack access to health services and clean water, people who are food insecure or malnourished, displaced people in camps, stateless people, women, children and people with disabilities”.

Rebuilding before the monsoon

Mr. Balakrishnan warned that “those affected are facing a long, miserable monsoon season if we cannot mobilize resources in time”.

He also gave reporters a glimpse of the harsh conditions facing internally displaced people, or IDPs, in the capital of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, Sittwe.

He recounted that an IDP from a camp in Sittwe told his colleagues that his shelter was destroyed while his family took refuge at an evacuation site at the height of the storm.

“Those who stayed had faced a horrible experience as the camp was submerged in water from the storm surge,” the UN aid official said, before insisting on the need for medical care, clean water and food, as well as support to rebuild shelters.

Humanitarian response underway

Hundreds of humanitarian personnel are on the ground in Rakhine state, already providing food aid, shelter, water and hygiene items “wherever they have access”, while mobile health teams have been supporting people on the ground, Mr. Balakrishnan said, with plans for additional urgent aid distribution.

“Thousands of people have already received support and we are hoping to soon receive the green light for a two-week distribution plan… across all affected communities in Rakhine and Chin”, he announced.

Rohingya refugees hit in Bangladesh

In neighbouring Bangladesh, the UN is appealing for $42 million to support the cyclone response, including $36 million for Rohingya refugees living in camps in the affected areas.

Gwyn Lewis, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh speaking from Dhaka, told reporters that more than 400,000 people in the country were impacted and 40,000 Rohingya refugees living in camps saw their homes – most often temporary bamboo structures – destroyed or damaged.

More food ration cuts

Ms. Lewis stressed that the cyclone came on the heels of food ration cuts for refugees and a devastating fire in March, in which 16,000 had lost their homes.

Adding to the refugees’ hardship, she said that lack of funding is forcing the UN to cut their food rations for a second time as of 1 June. “This means that the Rohingya refugees will receive only 67 per cent of the needed food rations, so one million people will only be getting about two-thirds of the needed food,” she added.

Life-saving early warnings

Thankfully, the Government of Bangladesh acted quickly upon the cyclone warnings, Ms. Lewis said, and evacuated some 700,000 people from Mocha’s path, which helped save countless lives.

She expressed hope that new funding will allow to rebuild the homes of the Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh with more weather-resistant materials and improve resilience.

On Monday, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) stressed the power of early warning services in preventing the worst impacts of extreme weather. The agency said that in the past, weather disasters similar to Mocha had caused “death tolls of tens and even hundreds of thousands” in both Myanmar and Bangladesh.

WMO also reported that over the past 50 years, Asia saw the highest death toll due to extreme weather, climate and water-related events, with close to one million deaths – more than half in Bangladesh alone.

This marked the seventh time that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant had been completely disconnected from the national electricity grid since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion 15 months ago, the agency said, noting that the facility was forced to run on emergency diesel generators once again. 

The plant’s only remaining external 750 kilovolt power line had been cut around 5:30am, local time, and re-connected after more than five hours, according to IAEA experts located at the facility. 

‘We’re playing with fire’ 

Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said the situation demonstrated “the highly vulnerable nuclear safety and security situation” at the plant, which has come under shelling during the conflict. 

“As I’ve said repeatedly, this simply can’t go on. We’re playing with fire. We must act now to avoid the very real danger of a nuclear accident in Europe, with its associated consequences for the public and the environment.” 

The ZNPP was occupied by Russian forces in the early days of the war and is still being operated by Ukrainian personnel.

Most staff live in the nearby town of Enerhodar. On Friday, the IAEA reported that a location close to the town came under artillery fire earlier that day. 

Intense negotiations continue 

Mr. Grossi said he continues to engage in intense negotiations with all parties to secure the protection of the nuclear plant, stressing that “I will not stop until this has been achieved.” 

He explained that the ZNPP does not have any operational back-up power lines since the last one functioning had been damaged in March, which has still not been repaired. 

“For more than two and a half months, this major nuclear power plant has only had one functioning external power line. This is an unprecedented and uniquely risky situation. Defence-in-depth – which is fundamental to nuclear safety – has been severely undermined at the ZNPP,” he said. 

Still awaiting access 

He called for greater efforts to restore the back-up power lines, while also reiterating the need for the IAEA team on site to gain access to the Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant (ZTPP), located nearby. 

The ZTPP has an open switchyard through which back-up power has been provided to the nuclear plant in the past. Access has yet to be granted despite reassurances by the Russian state nuclear company, Rosatom. 

Following the off-site power cut on Monday, all the nuclear plant’s 20 diesel generators started operating. However, 12 were later switched off, leaving eight running, which is sufficient to operate all systems safely.  

The IAEA said its experts at the site were informed that there is enough diesel fuel for 23 days, adding that after the 750 kilovolt line was restored, the diesel generators were gradually turned off.