The UN Secretary General delivered, on May 14, 2024, the annual report on protecting civilians in armed conflict, focussing on the figures and data available from the previous year. The report was delivered the year marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the inclusion in the Council’s agenda of the protection of civilians and the seventy-fifth anniversary of the creation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, cornerstone of international humanitarian law (IHL).
Civilian casualties in 2023 conflicts
The paper considers the figures reported from the major conflicts or attacks in 2023. The United Nations recorded at least 33,443 civilian deaths in armed conflict in 2023, noting how four out of every ten civilians killed were women and three out of ten were children. The number of deaths in 2023 recorded by the UN constitutes a 72% increase compared to the same data recorded by the UN in 2022.
About the UN data reported above, two things must be noted. First, the UN figure includes both lawful and unlawful civilian deaths, for instance, due to deliberate or indiscriminate attacks on the civilianpopulation. Secondly, the UN data reported above, differs from the one retrieved from the independent or national sources. Here are some of the figures that independent or national sources reported to the UN:
- 21,672 Palestinian civilian deaths and 56,165 civilians injured in Gaza due to the Israel-Hamas conflict reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health;
- More than 219,000 civilian victims of armed conflict within the state of the Democratic Republic of Congo;
- 1,300 civilian deaths in security incidents in Mali;
- 4,533 civilian deaths in Nigeria;
- 1,400 civilian deaths in Somalia;
- 1,527 civilian deaths in South Sudan;
- 12,260 civilian deaths in Sudan and 33,000 injured civilians caused by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces conflict in Sudan;
- 556 civilian deaths in the Syrian Arab Republic;
- 1,958 civilian deaths and 6,572 civilians injured in Ukraine due to the invasion of the country by the Russian Federation.
If these numbers are added together, it is evident that the overall number of civilian casualties documented by independent or national sources is much higher than the number of civilian casualties recorded by the UN, of at least 33,443 civilian deaths.
Main causes of civilian deaths and injury
The report traces the high – and increased compared to 2022 – civilian death toll and the aggravation of civilians’ lives back to four main causes. The first is the increase of urban warfare and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, which led in 2023 to almost 30,000 civilians killed and injured in Gaza, Myanmar, Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Ukraine and Yemen. Especially in Sudan and Ukraine, the deployment of explosive weapons in populated areas was the first cause of death of civilians, especially because entire cities were raised to the ground by their impact. For the prominent use of explosive weapons in urban warfare, the UN Secretary General invites states to endorse the 2022 Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas and to review existing military policy in line with the declaration, thus avoid using explosive weapons in highly populated areas.
The second cause is the attacks on critical infrastructure, which damaged it and made it unavailable, thus limiting the quality of life of civilians and making them more vulnerable. Examples of attacks on critical infrastructure are the destruction of 48 types of water infrastructure in Burkina Faso, which supplied water to more than 149,000 civilians, and the flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine, which disrupted the access to water and sanitation services for 1 million civilians.
The third cause is the use of landmines and remnants of war, which are unexploded ordnance left behind after a conflict. These were the second leading cause of death in Afghanistan where they led to the death of about 60 civilians monthly. Lastly, the use by warring parties of private military and security companies had an impact on civilians because they are not regulated by the warring party using them, thus leading to the possible violation of the laws of war, including the unlawful killing of civilians.
Vulnerable classes and aggravated suffering
The report also notes the classes most vulnerable to conflict: children, disabled individuals, women and journalists. In the 2023 conflicts, the classes of civilians were more subject to permanent physical and psychological injury and death. Furthermore, the Council also explains in a section of its report the different forms of aggravated suffering the 2023 conflicts caused, namely:
- Forced displacement: 110 million people worldwide were displaced mainly due to conflicts, with 66 of the 110 million internally displaced. For instance, conflicts led to the internal displacement of 6 million people in Sudan and the displacement of 1.4 million people in neighbouring countries;
- Interference with medical care: functions of medical workers during conflicts were interfered with through violence against patients, facilities, equipment, and transport, as well as the killing, injury, abduction and arrest of medical workers recorded in 21 conflicts in 2023;
- Hunger and lack of access to water: conflict was the main cause of food insecurity in 2023, which, due to gender inequality, impacted women more than men. Conflicts created food insecurity by displacing those working the land, destroying food stocks and agricultural assets as well as food markets, increasing food prices or decreasing civilians’ purchasing power;
- Environment destruction and degradation.
Recommendations to strengthen the current approach to civilian protection
Before explaining how to improve the current approach to the protection of civilians, the Secretary General analyses the current efforts to aid and protect civilians and seek accountability for unlawful harm to them caused by conflict, which constitutes international crime. Three measures already in place are mentioned. First is the humanitarian operations during the conflict, which nevertheless have been subject to constraints, like physical violence by the parties in conflict, jeopardising their effectiveness in helping the civilian population affected by conflict meet their basic needs. Second are peacekeeping and special political missions, 96% of which concern civilian protection mandates. These missions protect civilians at their bases and refugee camps. As humanitarian operations, these have been hindered by threats of physical violence by the warring parties. Lastly are the accountability efforts of international crimes related to the treatment of civilians.
The Security Council explains that the current approach mentioned for protecting civilians can be improved through several measures that complement the existing ones. Here below is a list of the recommended measures by the Security Council for the enhancement of the protection of civilians:
- States in conflicts must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law, and third states must ensure said parties respect said law;
- States should ratify key international treaties and take legislative, judicial and administrative measures to implement said treaties. This includes states’ obligations to protect those responsible for international crimes;
- States parties to conflict that have not done so already must endorse and implement the 2022 Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas;
- States must develop a national policy for the protection of civilians and civilian objects, including a broad understanding of civilian harm and a proactive approach to its prevention and mitigation, establishing capabilities to track, analyse, respond to and learn from incidents of civilian harm, so that civilian protection can be strengthened for future occasions.
If states abide by and consider these recommendations, civilian harm would be reduced, and civilians would be better protected from the direct and indirect consequences of conflict.
To read more, visit:
