UN Security Council underscores protection of civilians in armed conflict

UN Security Council on Friday reiterated the importance of protecting civilians in armed conflict and requested the secretary-general to report on this matter every 12 months.

In a presidential statement, the council expressed outrage that civilians continue to account for the vast majority of causalities in situations of armed conflict.

While reaffirming that parties to armed conflict bear the primary responsibility to ensure the protection of civilians, it recalled that states bear the primary responsibility to respect and ensure the human rights of all individuals within their territory and subject to their jurisdiction.

In addition, the council reiterated the need for systematic monitoring and reporting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

In this regard, the council requested the UN secretary-general to submit his next report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict by May 15, 2019.

It stipulated the report should include a summary of achievements and challenges to the UN work on protecting civilians over the last 20 years and an update on progress made against the recommendations set out in the UN chief's reports of 2017 and 2018.

It further requested that the secretary-general to submit future reports on this matter every 12 months to be formally considered by the council.