UN Official: One Civilian Killed Every 14 Minutes in Armed Conflict

UN: One civilian was killed every 14 minutes in armed conflict worldwide last year, according to the head of the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)’s global emergency response unit, who presented the figures to the UN Security Council during an open debate on civilian protection in armed conflict on Wednesday (20 May). Edem Wosornu, director of operations and advocacy at OCHA, said the figures showed the toll despite overall higher estimates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Ukraine, the occupied Palestinian territories, and elsewhere. In a related statement released on Wednesday, leaders of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee highlighted increasing, and brazen, violations of international humanitarian law and human rights across conflicts worldwide. “In various conflicts, civilians, including children, are killed, injured and displaced on a troubling scale,” they said. “Sexual violence is used as a tactic of war, disproportionately affecting women and girls and destroying lives. Homes, schools, places of worship, hospitals, including maternity wards, are destroyed or damaged, as are civilian infrastructure and assets such as water systems, transport networks, markets and food production.” The leaders warned that famine and food insecurity resulting from conflict are spreading, often linked to siege tactics and deliberate attempts to starve civilians. They also highlighted the unprecedented number of casualties among aid workers, with more than 1,000 humanitarian personnel killed in the last three years. “War has rules that apply to all parties to the conflict,” the statement said. “The problem is not the lack of law. The problem is failure to enforce it consistently, weakening accountability, and a lack of action, even in the face of atrocity.” Translator: Xinhua