Statement by the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador Sérgio França Danese, during the UN Security Council open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict - May 21st, 2024

 Brazil aligns itself with the statement delivered by Norway on behalf of the UN Group of Friends of the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict.

The Geneva Conventions were the culmination of years of development of a legal body that aimed at bringing some level of humanity to warfare, after repeated dreadful experiences worldwide.

The inclusion of the protection of civilians on the Council`s agenda 25 years ago was a relevant step forward. It opened the path for key resolutions.

These two developments are certainly causes for celebration. However, commemorations should not be empty ceremonial events. Rather, they must be acts of conscious reckoning with the lessons from history.

This is why today we must be frank and direct. Instead of reaping the benefits of its own past work and, more importantly, of the development of international humanitarian law, the Council has now become a passive beholder of a complete and repeated disregard for humanitarian tenets.

It has been idly watching parties to conflicts in many parts of the world seek maximum damage in total disregard for their deadly impact on civilians, the use of civilians as human shields and hostages or direct terror inflicted on civilians as a means to weaken resistance. The last report of the Secretary-General on the protection of civilians is a vivid and tragic illustration thereof.

Violence against civilians happens in many, if not all, armed conflicts, and Brazil deplores each and every case equally. One civilian hurt or killed in any armed conflict anywhere is one too many.

At the same time, the sheer magnitude of ongoing violence against civilians in Gaza warrants and even demands a specific reference. We unequivocally condemned the terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th and the unacceptable taking of hostages, for whose immediate release we firmly called and do so now yet again.

At the same time, we cannot condone the disproportionate Israeli reaction that has led to a staggering and ever-increasing number of civilian casualties, in blatant and continued violation of the principles of international humanitarian law. A permanent ceasefire is an absolute imperative to stop the carnage and spare innocent lives.

Another source of grave concern in Gaza and around the world is violence against humanitarian workers and attacks on their premises and assets. This is why Brazil, at the end of its last mandate on the Council, proposed a draft resolution on the inviolability and protection of humanitarian assistance. We thank Switzerland for following up on that initiative and hope that the Council will promptly adopt the resolution as steered by the Swiss.

Brazil is also concerned with the criminalization of humanitarian assistance. Resolution 2664 was a big step forward in countering this trend, but the attempts to undermine the work of UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs is a major step backwards. The example of UNRWA comes to mind. The whole agency cannot be punished for the alleged wrongdoings of a few or some of its workers. The latter must be punished accordingly, if duly proved guilty, but not the millions who depend on the agency to survive.

Dismantling or weakening the agency would amount to imposing an absurd death penalty on the very victims of widespread violence.

Mr. President,

We are at the crossroads of a concerning disbelief in the ability to settle disputes through peaceful means. By action or complacency, we are also jeopardizing the fundaments of international humanitarian law.

The international community, and this Council in particular, must act decisively to avert the tragic course of such dreadful combination that is profoundly stigmatizing our times as one of the worst in modern history.

Thank you.