(New York) - The United Nations Security Council should make sure that its existing commitments to protect civilians during armed conflict are actually carried out, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to council member states.

On June 26, 2009, the Security Council will hold a debate to discuss its work on civilian protection, in which all UN members can participate. The Security Council has made numerous commitments to protect civilians in armed conflict, especially women and children, but often has failed to follow through and engage effectively, or sometimes at all, Human Rights Watch said. As a result, its efforts to end civilian suffering during armed conflict have been grossly inadequate.

"It's not enough for the Security Council to say something should be done about the appalling damage wars cause to civilians across the world," said Steve Crawshaw, UN advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "The council needs to do something about it."

In its letter, Human Rights Watch identified the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Chad, and Sri Lanka as examples of nations in which the Security Council has failed to take meaningful action to address and prevent civilian suffering during armed conflict.

In this letter about Sri Lanka :

Sri Lanka

The Security Council's indifference to the plight of the Sri Lankan civilians caught up in the fighting between government forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the final months of the armed conflict this year represents a failure of historic proportions. According to UN estimates, more than 7,000 civilians - and perhaps as many as 20,000 - died from January through May 2009 in the midst of serious violations of international humanitarian law by both the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE. And yet, the Security Council failed even to discuss the issue, except in the context of an "informal interactive dialog," which precluded in advance the possibility of any council action.

The Secretary-General's seventh report on the protection of civilians emphasizes the suffering of Sri Lankan civilians both during the recent conflict and continuing today. Both sides in the conflict showed wanton disregard for human life in violation of international humanitarian law. The LTTE used civilians as human shields and forcibly prevented civilians from escaping the conflict zone. The Sri Lankan government also committed grave violations, none of which are excused by its claims of fighting terrorism. Despite denying the use of heavy weapons to council members, government forces repeatedly shelled densely populated areas, including hospitals.

It is now too late for the Security Council to act to protect the civilians killed and wounded in the government's erroneously named "no-fire zone." There is still a need, however, for the council to urgently address the continuing humanitarian and human rights crisis and help undo some of the damage that its previous inaction helped foster.

Nearly 300,000 ethnic Tamil civilians are now detained in the government's closed "welfare camps," including entire families who are prevented from leaving either for work or to move in with relatives or other families. The council should act to protect them by pressing for the rights to liberty and freedom of movement of civilians placed in government camps and basic human rights protections for persons the government suspects of being LTTE members; ensuring access to humanitarian organizations, the media, and human rights organizations to internally displaced persons and former conflict zones; and creating an international commission of inquiry to investigate alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by both sides during the recent fighting.

Conclusion

As the Secretary-General says in his latest report on civilian protection in armed conflict, the debate on June 26 provides an opportunity for "determined action" and "reinvigorated commitment by the Security Council, Member States, and the United Nations to the protection of civilians." We urge the council to use the debate to urgently remedy existing shortfalls in civilian protection.

The Council should act more robustly and strategically to confront the appalling conditions suffered by civilians in armed conflict in these four countries and worldwide. Protection of civilians needs to be made a priority in reality, not just in words.

Sincerely,

Steve Crawshaw
United Nations Advocacy Director