Mr. Chair,
I thank the Permanent Mission of Pakistan for organizing today’s Arria-formula meeting, for providing this space to affirm the centrality of international law to international peace and security, and to identify practical measures to strengthen respect for the law in armed conflict.
Excellencies, esteemed colleagues,
The reality is stark and the trajectory is perilous.
Civilians are dying in the tens of thousands. Children are losing limbs, family members, and education.
Patients are attacked in hospital beds where they should be recovering. Millions of people are on the move, leaving behind their homes, livelihoods, and communities.
People are held in inadequate places of detention and subjected to ill treatment, with no news of their fate reaching their loved ones. Ecosystems and common cultural heritage are irreparably destroyed.
These are just some of the unconscionable consequences of the way wars are being fought today across the globe. More can and must be done to turn the tide.
The drafters of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, their Additional Protocols, and other treaties that make up international humanitarian law had the wisdom to codify rules to ensure that, when wars are fought, they do not cause unnecessary damage and suffering. These men and women understood that total war is unacceptable.
For those who do not – or who no longer – engage in hostilities, international humanitarian law is the last line of protection, separating dignity from devastation.
These rules must be upheld.
Excellencies,
The rules of war translate into concrete actions on the battlefield, with life-or-death consequences. A military decision-maker must consider:
What measures are in place to ensure that a target is a lawful military objective?
Is the expected incidental harm to civilians proportionate to the anticipated military advantage?
How will a strike affect a nearby water pumping station and the availability of clean water for the civilian population, or for a nearby hospital?
They must ask, have all feasible precautions been taken to avoid or at least minimize incidental harm?
IHL rules carefully balance what is necessary to achieve a legitimate military purpose with the imperative to limit death, suffering, injury, and destruction.
Today, this careful balance is under strain. As parties to armed conflicts interpret IHL rules with increasing elasticity, they set a dangerous precedent with tragic consequences.
This careful balance is also being tested by new technologies. The increasing use of drones, autonomous weapons systems, cyber operations, and artificial intelligence to achieve military aims raises humanitarian, legal and ethical issues.
When integrating new technologies in the military domain, parties must apply IHL consistently and in good faith, in line with its humanitarian object and purpose.
For some specific technologies – such as autonomous weapons systems – the position of the ICRC is that the adoption of a new legally binding instrument is required to clarify how existing rules apply in practice.
Excellencies,
Respect for the law starts with political will at all levels. It requires buy-in across military ranks, political leadership, and the international community.
The ICRC calls on state leaders to:
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ensure their armed forces are equipped and trained to work through these questions in a charged and dynamic battlefield environment;
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set the tone, with an expectation of respect for the law – evenly and in all circumstances, without conditions of reciprocity; and
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use the tools at their disposal to influence the behavior of others for better respect for the law.
The Security Council, with its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, has a key role to play in this respect.
The Security Council has demonstrated its capacity to insist on the robust framework of IHL through an extensive series of resolutions on relevant topics.
From the protection of critical infrastructure, education, and the medical mission, to the issue of missing persons, all of these resolutions have been adopted unanimously, further reinforcing both the universal nature of these rules and the shared foundation of humanity they are based upon.
The ICRC calls on the Security Council:
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through its adoption of resolutions on IHL topics, to continue reaffirming and reinforcing interpretations of IHL that are consistent with its protective purpose; and
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to insist on their consistent implementation.
Excellencies,
The Global initiative to galvanize political commitment to international humanitarian law was launched by Brazil, China, France, Jordan, Kazakhstan and South Africa, together with the ICRC, as an exceptional response to the suffering witnessed in armed conflicts today. It aims to ensure the impartial, consistent and universal application of existing IHL obligations.
To date, 118 states have joined the intiative. Over the past 2 years more than 160 states from all regions have participated in consultations across seven workstreams, led by 27 states, including Pakistan among others present today.
The collected guidance aims at increasing respect for IHL and addressing the challenges posed by contemporary warfare, with one consistent theme: to preserve the protective purpose of IHL.
We encourage all States to join this endeavor, and all states who have joined to attend the High-Level Conference on Humanity in War to be held in Jordan in December.
Excellencies,
As the ICRC President said in May of this year when she addressed the Security Council, "we can no longer pretend that what we are witnessing across war zones is in accordance with the law".
Rigorous good-faith compliance with international humanitarian law does not end all suffering in armed conflict, but it dramatically decreases the pain that war causes wherever it occurs.
We must work collectively to uphold humanity in war.
Thank you.
