VOTING INSTRUCTION FOR SECURITY COUNCIL

UNCLAS STATE 116119

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM UNSC
SUBJECT: VOTING INSTRUCTION FOR SECURITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION ON THE PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS


1. (U) This is an action request: The Department requests
USUN to co-sponsor and vote in favor of the UN Security
Council resolution in paragraph 2 regarding the Protection of
Civilians scheduled for Council adoption on November 11,

2009. Post should seek additional guidance from the
Department if there are any additional substantive changes to
the resolution text.


2. (U) Begin text:

i. Reaffirming its commitment to the continuing and full
implementation, in a mutually-reinforcing manner, of
resolutions 1265 (1999),1296 (2000),1325 (2000),1612
(2005),1674 (2006),1738 (2006),1820 (2008),1882 (2009),
1888 (2009) and 1889 (2009),and all relevant statements of
its President,

ii. Reaffirming its commitment to the Purposes of the
Charter of the United Nations as set out in Article 1 (1-4)
of the Charter, and to the Principles of the Charter as set
out in Article 2 (1-7) of the Charter, including its
commitment to the principles of the political independence,
sovereign equality and territorial integrity of all States,
and respect for the sovereignty of all States,

iii. Noting that this year marks the tenth anniversary of
the progressive consideration by the Security Council of the
protection of civilians in armed conflict as a thematic
issue; and acknowledging the enduring need for the Security
Council and Member States to strengthen further the
protection of civilians in armed conflict,

iv. Noting further that this year also marks the 60th
anniversary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which together
with their Additional Protocols constitute the basis for the
legal framework for the protection of civilians in armed
conflict,

v. Recognizing that States bear the primary
responsibility to respect and ensure the human rights of
their citizens, as well as all individuals within their
territory as provided for by relevant international law,

vi. Reaffirming that parties to armed conflict bear the
primary responsibility to take all feasible steps to ensure
the protection of civilians,

vii. Reaffirming the relevant provisions of the 2005 World
Summit Outcome Document regarding the protection of civilians
in armed conflict, including paragraphs 138 and 139 thereof
regarding the responsibility to protect populations from
genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against
humanity;

viii. Reiterating its deep regret that civilians continue
to account for the vast majority of casualties in situations
of armed conflict;

ix. Stressing the particular impact that armed conflict
has on women and children, including as refugees and
internally displaced persons, as well as on other civilians
who may have specific vulnerabilities including persons with
disabilities and older persons, and stressing the protection
and assistance needs of all affected civilian populations;

x. Noting the adoption of the African Union Convention
for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced
Persons in Africa (2009);

xi. Noting with grave concern the severity and prevalence
of constraints on humanitarian access, as well as the
frequency and gravity of attacks against humanitarian
personnel and objects and the significant implications of
such attacks for humanitarian operations,

xii. Recognizing the need for States in or emerging from
armed conflict to restore or build accountable security
institutions and independent national judicial systems;

xiii. Recalling the inclusion of war crimes, crimes against
humanity and genocide in the statutes of the ad hoc
international criminal tribunals and the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court, and emphasizing in this regard
the principle of complementarity,
xiv. Recognizing the importance of reparations programmes
in response to serious violations of international
humanitarian law and gross human rights violations,

xv. Recognizing the importance of empowering vulnerable
civilians through education and training as a means to
support efforts to halt and prevent abuses committed against
civilians in situations of armed conflict,

xvi. Recognizing the valuable contribution to the
protection of children in armed conflict by the SRSG on
Children and Armed Conflict and the Security Council Working
Group on Children and Armed Conflict, including its
conclusions and recommendations issued in line with
resolution 1612 (2005),and recalling resolution 1882 (2009),
which aims to strengthen the protection of children in
situations of armed conflict,

xvii. Recalling its decision in resolution 1888 (2009) to
address violence against women and children in situations of
armed conflict by requesting the Secretary-General to appoint
a special representative and to identify and take the
appropriate measures to deploy rapidly a team of experts to
situations of particular concern with respect to sexual
violence in armed conflict,

xviii. Noting the practice of briefings to Security Council
members by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs on behalf of the United Nations, humanitarian
community, both through formal and informal channels;

xix. Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on
the protection of civilians of 29 May 2009 (S/2009/277) and
its annex on constraints on humanitarian access, which
identify the core challenges to the effective protection of
civilians, namely enhancing compliance with international
law; enhancing compliance by non-State armed groups with
their obligations under international law; enhancing
protection through more effective and better resourced United
Nations peacekeeping and other relevant missions; enhancing
humanitarian access; and enhancing accountability for
violations;

xx. Welcoming the proposals, conclusions and
recommendations on the protection of civilians included in
the report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping
Operations and its Working Group (A/63/19) and the important
work conducted by the Security Council Working Group on
Peacekeeping Operations, including its efforts aimed at
enhancing the implementation of protection mandates;

xxi. Recalling the statement of its President of 5 August
2009 (S/PRST/2009/24) and welcoming ongoing efforts to
strengthen UN peacekeeping;

xxii. Noting that United Nations peacekeeping missions
constitute one of several means at the United Nations,
disposal to protect civilians in situations of armed conflict;


1. Demands that parties to armed conflict comply strictly
with the obligations applicable to them under international
humanitarian, human rights and refugee law, as well as to
implement all relevant decisions of the Security Council and
in this regard, urges them to take all required measures to
respect and protect the civilian population and meet its
basic needs;


2. Reiterates its condemnation in the strongest terms of
attacks in situations of armed conflict directed against
civilians as such and other protected persons or objects as
well as indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks and the
utilisation of the presence of civilians to render certain
points, areas or military forces immune from military
operations, as flagrant violations of international
humanitarian law and demands that all parties immediately put
an end to such practices;


3. Notes that the deliberate targeting of civilians as
such and other protected persons, and the commission of
systematic, flagrant and widespread violations of applicable
international humanitarian and human rights law in situations
of armed conflict may constitute a threat to international
peace and security, and reaffirms in this regard its
readiness to consider such situations and, where necessary,
to adopt appropriate steps;


4. Reiterates its willingness to respond to situations of
armed conflict where civilians are being targeted or
humanitarian assistance to civilians is being deliberately
obstructed, including through the consideration of
appropriate measures at the Security Council,s disposal in
accordance with the Charter of the United Nations;


5. Reiterates its call on States that have not already
done so to consider signing, ratifying or acceding to the
relevant instruments of international humanitarian, human
rights and refugee law, and to take appropriate legislative,
judicial and administrative measures to implement their
obligations under these instruments;


6. Demands that all States and parties to armed conflict
fully implement all relevant decisions of the Security
Council and in this regard cooperate fully with United
Nations peacekeeping missions and Country Teams in the
follow-up and implementation of these resolutions;


7. Calls upon all parties concerned,

(a) to ensure the widest possible dissemination of
information about international humanitarian, human rights
and refugee law;

(b) to provide training for public officials, members of
armed forces and armed groups, personnel associated to armed
forces, civilian police and law enforcement personnel, and
members of the judicial and legal professions; and to raise
awareness among civil society and the civilian population on
relevant international humanitarian, human rights and refugee
law, as well as on the protection, special needs and human
rights of women and children in conflict situations, to
achieve full and effective compliance;

(c) to ensure that orders and instructions issued to
armed forces and other relevant actors are in compliance with
applicable international law, and that they are observed,
inter alia, by establishing effective disciplinary
procedures, central to which must be the strict adherence to
the principle of command responsibility to support compliance
with international humanitarian law;

(d) to seek, where appropriate, support from United
Nations peacekeeping and other relevant missions, as well as
United Nations Country Teams and the International Committee
of the Red Cross and, where appropriate, other members of the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, on
training and awareness raising on international humanitarian,
human rights and refugee law;


8. Emphasizes the importance of addressing in its country
specific deliberations the compliance of parties to armed
conflict with international humanitarian, human rights and
refugee law; notes the range of existing methods used, on a
case by case basis, for gathering information on alleged
violations of applicable international law relating to the
protection of civilians and underlines the importance in this
regard of receiving information that is timely, objective,
accurate and reliable;


9. Considers the possibility, to this end, of using the
International Fact-Finding Commission established by Article
90 of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions;


10. Affirms its strong opposition to impunity for serious
violations of international humanitarian law and human rights
law and emphasizes in this context the responsibility of
States to comply with their relevant obligations to end
impunity and to thoroughly investigate and prosecute persons
responsible for war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity
or other serious violations of international humanitarian law
in order to prevent violations, avoid their recurrence and
seek sustainable peace, justice, truth and reconciliation;


11. Recalls that accountability for such serious crimes
must be ensured by taking measures at the national level, and
by enhancing international cooperation in support of national
mechanisms, draws attention to the full range of justice and
reconciliation mechanisms to be considered, including
national, international and &mixed8 criminal courts and
tribunals, and truth and reconciliation commissions, as well
as national reparation programs for victims and institutional
reforms; and underlines the Security Council,s role in
ending impunity;


12. Reaffirms the Security Council,s role in promoting
an environment that is conducive to the facilitation of
humanitarian access to those in need;


13. Stresses the importance for all, within the framework
of humanitarian assistance, of upholding and respecting the
humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality
and independence;


14. Stresses the importance for all parties to armed
conflict to cooperate with humanitarian personnel in order to
allow and facilitate access to civilian populations affected
by armed conflict;


15. Expresses its intention to:

(a) Call on parties to armed conflict to comply with
the obligations applicable to them under international
humanitarian law to take all required steps to protect
civilians and to facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage
of relief consignments, equipment and personnel,

(b) Mandate UN peacekeeping and other relevant
missions, where appropriate, to assist in creating conditions
conducive to safe, timely and unimpeded humanitarian
assistance,


16. Further expresses its intention to:

(a) Consistently condemn and call for the immediate
cessation of all acts of violence and other forms of
intimidation deliberately directed against humanitarian
personnel,
(b) Call on parties to armed conflict to comply with the
obligations applicable to them under international
humanitarian law to respect and protect humanitarian
personnel and consignments used for humanitarian relief
operations,
(c) Take appropriate steps in response to deliberate
attacks against humanitarian personnel;


17. Invites the Secretary-General to continue the
systematic monitoring and analysis of constraints on
humanitarian access, to include as appropriate observations
and recommendations in his briefings and country-specific
reports to the Council;


18. Recalls its determination to upgrade the strategic
oversight of peacekeeping operations mindful of the important
role peacekeeping operations play for the protection of
civilians and reaffirms its support to the efforts made by
the Secretary-General to review peacekeeping operations and
to provide enhanced planning and support and renews its
encouragement to deepen these efforts, in partnership with
troop and police contributing countries and other relevant
stakeholders;


19. Reaffirms its practice of ensuring that mandates of
UN peacekeeping and other relevant missions include, where
appropriate and on a case-by-case basis, provisions regarding
the protection of civilians, stresses that mandated
protection activities must be given priority in decisions
about the use of available capacity and resources, including
information and intelligence resources, in the implementation
of mandates; and recognizes, that the protection of civilians
when and as mandated requires a coordinated response from all
relevant mission components;


20. Reaffirms also the importance of entrusting
peacekeeping and other relevant missions that are tasked with
the protection of civilians with clear, credible and
achievable mandates, based on accurate and reliable
information on the situation on the ground, and a realistic
assessment of threats against civilians and missions, made in
consultation with all relevant stakeholders, and further
reaffirms the importance of a greater awareness in the
Security Council of the resource and field support
implications of its decisions and stresses the necessity to
ensure the execution of the afore-mentioned mandates to
protect civilians in the field;


21. Recognizes the necessity to take into account the
protection needs of civilians in situations of armed
conflict, in particular women and children, in the early
phase of mandate drafting and throughout the lifecycle of
United Nations peacekeeping and other relevant missions and
in this regard underlines the importance of engagement with
the countries concerned and of close consultation with the
Secretariat, troop and police contributing countries, and
other relevant actors;


22. Recognizes also the need for comprehensive
operational guidance on peacekeeping missions, tasks and
responsibilities in the implementation of protection of
civilians mandates and requests the Secretary-General to
develop in close consultation with Member States including
troop and police contributing countries and other relevant
actors, an operational concept for the protection of
civilians, and to report back on progress made;


23. Requests the Secretary-General, in consultation
with relevant actors, to ensure that peacekeeping missions
with protection of civilians, mandates, in keeping with the
strategic plans that guide their deployment, conduct
mission-wide planning, pre-deployment training, and senior
leadership training on the protection of civilians and
requests troop and police contributing countries to ensure
the provision of appropriate training of their personnel
participating in UN peacekeeping and other relevant missions
to heighten the awareness and responsiveness to protection
concerns, including training on HIV/AIDS and zero tolerance
of sexual exploitation and abuse in UN peacekeeping missions;


24. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that all
relevant peacekeeping missions with protection mandates
incorporate comprehensive protection strategies into the
overall mission implementation plans and contingency plans
which include assessments of potential threats and options
for crisis response and risk mitigation and establish
priorities, actions and clear roles and responsibilities
under the leadership and coordination of the SRSG, with the
full involvement of all relevant actors and in consultation
with United Nations Country teams;


25. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that United
Nations missions provide local communities with adequate
information with regard to the role of the mission and in
this regard ensure coordination between a United Nations
mission and relevant humanitarian agencies;


26. Takes note of practical measures taken by ongoing
peacekeeping missions and United Nations Country Teams to
enhance the protection of civilians in the field, and
requests the Secretary-General to include best practices in
his next report on protection of civilians to the Council;


27. Reaffirms its practice of requiring benchmarks, as
and where appropriate, to measure and review progress made in
the implementation of peacekeeping mandates and stresses the
importance of including indicators of progress regarding the
protection of civilians in such benchmarks for relevant
missions;


28. Emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach
to facilitate the implementation of protection mandates
through promoting economic growth, good governance,
democracy, the rule of law, and respect for, and protection
of human rights, and in this regard, urges the cooperation of
Member States and underlines the importance of a coherent,
comprehensive and coordinated approach by the principal
organs of the United Nations, cooperating with one another
and within their respective mandates;


29. Notes that the excessive accumulation and destabilizing
effect of small arms and light weapons pose a considerable
impediment to the provision of humanitarian assistance and
have a potential to exacerbate and prolong conflicts,
endanger civilians and undermine security and the confidence
required for a return to peace and stability, calls on
parties to armed conflict to take all feasible precautions to
protect the civilian population, including children, from the
effects of landmines and other explosive remnants of war, and
in this regard, encourages the international community to
support country efforts in clearing landmines and other
explosive remnants of war and to provide assistance for the
care, rehabilitation and economic and social reintegration of
victims, including persons with disabilities;


30. Reiterates the importance of the Aide Memoire on
the protection of civilians (S/PRST/2009) as a practical tool
that provides a basis for improved analysis and diagnosis of
key protection issues, particularly during deliberations on
peacekeeping mandates and stresses the need to implement the
approaches set out therein on a more regular and consistent
basis, taking into account the particular circumstances of
each conflict situation;


31. Recognises the important role of the
Secretary-General in providing timely information to the
Security Council on protection of civilians in armed conflict
in particular through thematic and country specific reports
and through briefings;


32. Requests the Secretary-General to include in his
reports to the Council on country-specific situations more
comprehensive and detailed information relating to the
protection of civilians in armed conflict, including on
protection-related incidents and actions taken by parties to
armed conflict to implement their obligations to respect and
protect the civilian population, including information
specific to the protection needs of refugees, internally
displaced persons, women, children and other vulnerable
groups;


33. Requests the Secretary-General to develop guidance for
UN peacekeeping and other relevant missions on the reporting
on the protection of civilians in armed conflict with a view
to streamlining reporting and enhancing the Council,s
monitoring and oversight of the implementation of protection
mandates of UN peacekeeping and other missions;


34. Stresses the importance of consultation and
cooperation between the United Nations, the International
Committee of the Red Cross and other relevant organisations
including regional organisations to improve the protection of
civilians in armed conflict;


35. Requests the Secretary-General to submit his next
report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict by
November 2010;


36. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
CLINTON