UN council urges warring parties to respect law, protect civilians

Nov 12, 2009, 10:24 GMT

New York - The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday called unanimously on warring parties to 'strictly comply' with international humanitarian law, human rights and refugee law, which protect civilians in conflict zones.

Such a call has been mostly ignored in conflict, putting civilians at risk of death, injury and sexual violence.

The council said in a resolution that it condemned 'in the strongest terms' attacks on civilians by parties in conflict and their use of indiscriminate and disproportionate military force.

UN officials urged the council to close the gap between the law and its practice in conflict zones.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay denounced the 'corrosive effect' of impunity on human rights and peace in the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Citing the controversial report by the panel investigating the Israel-Hamas fighting in the Gaza Strip in December-January, Pillay said Israel was responsible for the killings in Gaza and attacks on schools and mosques. The four-member panel was led by South African Judge Richard Goldstone.

Pillay also said that 'armed Palestinian groups' in Gaza fired rockets and mortars into southern Israel, killing Israeli civilians, causing trauma and injuries.

She said until meaningful steps are taken to end impunity for violations of international law, 'the applicability of international law, peace and security will remain elusive for all the people in the (Middle East) region.'

The UN humanitarian coordinator, John Holmes, said even an optimistic assessment of the gap between rhetoric and reality suggested that 'we still have far to go.'

Holmes said violations of international law by states and non- state parties have been seen in conflicts from Afghanistan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo to the occupied Palestinian territories, Sudan, Yemen and beyond.

He said conflicts in those countries have killed and injured 'thousands of civilians' every month while thousands more have been forced out of their homes and subject to destitution, rape and other forms of sexual violence.

The council has been debating and calling for the protection of civilians caught in the world's conflict zones for years. But reports from war zones tell a different story.