Ladies and Gentlemen,
Before I start, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we are meeting today.
Thank you for the invitation to address this important conference on enhancing the protection of civilians in peace operations. I commend the Australian Government and the Asia-Pacific Civil-Military Centre of Excellence for organising such an important initiative, which I am pleased should coincide with my official visit to Australia. I welcome the leadership Australia is bringing to this issue, including advancing the principle of the Responsibility to Protect, and I have been pleased to discuss with Prime Minister Gillard and Foreign Minister Rudd ways to deepen our partnership in this regard.
Recent developments in Côte d’Ivoire and Libya illustrate the political and operational challenges the international community and United Nations face in ensuring the protection of civilians in armed conflict. They are also a clear reminder that ensuring respect for human rights and accountability for violations is central to the maintenance of peace and security.
The protection of civilians in armed conflict is, at its core, concerned with protecting human rights. Protecting civilians from the atrocities of armed conflict is an essential element of my Office’s mandate, and we are actively engaged within the United Nations system to enhance the protection of civilians, both policy-wise and operationally.
Preventing and addressing imminent threats of physical violence against civilians in situations of armed conflict requires effective civil-military coordination, drawing upon the expertise and operational capabilities of uniformed and civilian personnel within missions.
It is important to note that the implementation of mandates for the protection of civilians draws upon broader protection mandates and frameworks, such as OHCHR’s human rights protection mandate and the framework for protection in humanitarian settings. It does not, and should not, replace these existing mandates and mechanisms. Ensuring the effective protection of civilians requires a coordinated approach drawing upon the existing work of relevant actors, and maximising the comparative advantage of our different expertise and operational capabilities.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Over the next two days, you will be discussing various aspects of the implementation of the protection of civilians, from the political and strategic context to the operational capabilities required on the ground, issues specific to sexual violence and children and armed conflict, and training and resources to support implementation. This morning, I would like to share with you some reflections on the role of human rights in the protection of civilians to feed into these discussions.
OHCHR’s human rights field presences have, for many years, played a central role in implementing mandates for the protection of civilians, and addressing conflict-related sexual violence and violations against children. Currently, there are human rights components integrated into 16 peacekeeping and special political missions. This includes the six multi-dimensional peacekeeping operations with a mandate to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Sudan, Sudan-Darfur, Liberia and Haiti.
Human rights components cooperate closely with other civilian and uniformed components in joint planning, coordination, analysis, prevention and response. Human rights officers have extensive reach to the local population. Their monitoring and analysis is a critical function for mission-wide early warning and coordination mechanisms, and determining the mission’s response and prioritisation of resources. Human rights investigations are a key step in promoting accountability for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, and identifying remedies and reform needs, with a view to preventing future violations. Capacity and institution-building for national authorities and actors serves to strengthen respect for human rights and the rule of law, and support broader reform efforts. We also undertake reporting and advocacy to raise awareness of key concerns and trends, and encourage the parties to a conflict to take measures to strengthen the protection of civilians.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our approach to protection is first and foremost to endeavour to prevent violations in the first place. We do this through human rights monitoring and engagement with civilian populations to gather and analyse information on human rights trends and risks. In situations where the escalation of violence warrants preventive action by missions, close links between human rights officers and uniformed personnel are critical to raise alerts and ensure proactive measures such as joint deployments to volatile areas, deterrent patrolling and engagement with potential perpetrators.
Where access to civilian populations is restricted, human rights components have devised creative solutions to gather information on the human rights situation. During the recent crisis in Côte d’Ivoire, the UNOCI human rights component established a 24-hour hotline through which violations could be reported. Since its inception in December 2010, the call centre has received over 12,000 calls. In a very restricted security environment, it was a vital link to civilian populations and enabled the human rights component to identify hot spots and sensitive zones and, in certain cases, to prevent violations through the immediate dispatch of military and police patrols. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, human rights officers are critical players in early warning efforts, including Joint Protection Teams and the development of Community Alert Networks which link communities at risk to nearby MONUSCO bases.
We also foster prevention by providing technical advice on legislation and policy; and training to national armed forces, police and institutions, and our mission colleagues. In the DRC, the human rights component plays a key role in advising MONUSCO on its support to national forces, based on a screening process to exclude individuals and units allegedly implicated in serious human rights violations. My Office is also actively involved in due diligence efforts at the global level, and co-chairs the review group tasked with reaching agreement on the core principles governing UN support to non-UN security forces. I hope that Australia, for its part, will also implement stronger safeguards for vetting in its own military exchanges and cooperation programs.
Where, despite preventive efforts, violations do occur, we contribute to the response of the United Nations, including through investigation and follow-up with authorities, mitigation of the impact on populations at risk, and protection measures for victims and witnesses. In Sudan, following the outbreak of inter-ethnic violence on the border of Lakes and Western Equatoria states in February 2011, the UNMIS human rights component joined a multi-party effort to engage with local actors to find a peaceful solution. During this mediation, the two state governors agreed to establish a committee to address the root causes of the conflict.
In the DRC, following the mass rapes of at least 387 women, girls, men and boys by a coalition of armed groups in Walikale, North Kivu in July and August 2010, human rights officers conducted a thorough investigation, identified perpetrators and advised on measures to prevent further attacks, involving MONUSCO uniformed personnel and national security forces. The human rights component supported the opening of a judicial inquiry, conducted in situ training for magistrates on witness protection and investigation techniques for sexual violence, and heightened their monitoring to advise local police and military peacekeepers on risks of reprisals and protection gaps.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Secretary-General has rightly emphasised that accountability is one of the core elements of the protection of civilians. Accountability is required not only to fulfil international legal obligations, but is also an important tool for the prevention of human rights violations, as it makes their recurrence less likely. My Office has extensive experience and expertise in promoting and strengthening accountability, including through investigations and commissions of inquiry and support to national accountability and transitional justice mechanisms.
The situation in Côte d’Ivoire is a striking example of the inextricable link between peace, justice and human rights, and the importance of accountability in paving the road towards long-term reconciliation and recovery. Throughout the crisis, my Office and I have engaged directly with leaders on all sides to recall their responsibility to protect civilians, and their command and control responsibility for serious human rights violations. We also stressed the need for truth, reconciliation and accountability, highlighting the link between the recurrence of violence and impunity in the past. President Ouattara’s pledge to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and to prosecute those who committed crimes is a welcome step and he has requested assistance from my Office Another important step will be the international Commission of Inquiry, which was mandated by the Human Rights Council to investigate the allegations of serious human rights violations committed following the presidential election of 28 November, and will report back to the Human Rights Council in June.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have reached a critical stage in the debate on the future of peacekeeping. Protection of civilians and human rights mandates have gained increasing centrality in Security Council resolutions, with important operational implications. Major efforts – with the support of my Office – are underway to develop guidance and training materials for the effective implementation of protection of civilians mandates.[1] This illustrates our collective commitment to learn the lessons of the past, and prepare peace operations to proactively prevent and respond to threats of human rights and international humanitarian law violations. Yet major challenges persist and the gap between policy and practice remains vast.
Clarity is greatly needed on the concept of the protection of civilians, its relationship to existing protection mandates, and the definition of roles and responsibilities both within missions and among external actors. In order for the United Nations to implement protection of civilians mandates in an effective and coherent manner, we need to maximise the complementary roles of different actors, drawing upon existing expertise, capacity and experience, and avoiding the duplication of functions. I encourage you to utilise and maximise the longstanding and wide-ranging expertise and experience of my Office in this regard.
I would also stress that mandates for the protection of civilians must be accompanied by the allocation of necessary resources for both military and civilian components. From the civilian perspective, human rights components of peacekeeping operations need to be adequately resourced to ensure the presence of human rights officers throughout areas affected or threatened by conflict; and the availability of logistical support to enable human rights monitoring, investigation, and preventive work.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Strengthening the protection of human rights in situations of armed conflict continues to be a priority for my Office, and we are fully committed to working with key partners within and outside the UN system. I hope that your discussions over the next two days will be fruitful, and will further our collective efforts to strengthen the protection of civilians in policy and practice.
Thank you.
[1] FOR INFORMATION ONLY: This includes the Operational Concept on the Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping Operations; Framework for Drafting Comprehensive Protection of Civilians Strategies in UN Peacekeeping Operations; and guidance addressing the integration of protection of civilians in mission planning processes, and the resource and capability requirements for the implementation of protection of civilians mandates. OHCHR has also participated in the development of the DPKO protection of civilians training package for peacekeepers.
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