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Ambassador James B. Cunningham
Deputy U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
Statement in the Security Council on Civilians in Armed Conflict
March 15, 2002


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USUN PRESS RELEASE # 38 (02)
March 15, 2002

Statement by Ambassador James B. Cunningham, Deputy U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on Civilians in Armed Conflict, in the Security Council, March 15, 2002

Thank you, Mr. President.  I also want to thank the Undersecretary-General for his report today and for the effort of him and his staff to produce this document.  I think it is a good piece of work -- and also an innovative piece of work in helping us be more concrete about this important subject. 

I also want to join others in thanking you, Sir, and your delegation, for your effort in working with the members of the Council and with the Secretariat to reach agreement on the document.  It was a good practice and precedent that I hope we can emulate in the future.

We have always considered the protection of civilians in armed conflict to be at the heart of the United Nations task and this Council's task in dealing with war and  conflict.  Unfortunately, the long list that the Undersecretary General provided this morning of examples of the difficult problem could be even longer.  It is an urgent and pressing problem but I think the discussion today and the aide memoire show that we are, in fact, institutionally, making some progress in dealing with it.  I also particularly wanted to welcome the affirmation by Mr. Oshima of the zero tolerance policy to be followed when the protectors begin to prey on the protected.

The aide memoire is a useful step forward I think because it provides clarity and focus and specifics to the discussion that we're having about how best we can organize ourselves to afford the maximum amount of protection to civilians.  It sets out rather clearly and schematically and usefully, I think, the instruments that the international community and this Council can bring to bear depending on the circumstances.  I was also glad to hear Mr. Oshima's remarks about how knowledge of the existence and use of those instruments could be spread more broadly throughout governments and throughout the UN system.  We promote very much the intent to follow-up on the aide memoire and to further refine it in the future as our experience and use of the instruments increases.

I was particularly struck by the aide memoire's precedence column.  That column shows I think, as one would hope, that we are bringing these instruments to bear. And I think it is also particularly interesting that almost all of the examples set out  in the precedence column are in Resolutions that we have adopted in the last two years which I hope shows that we are in fact merging our operations in the Council with the more theoretical approach taken in the thematic discussions. 

We look forward to the Secretary-General's report in November.  We join others in encouraging better coordination and integration within the UN system and between the UN system and nations who are participating in various aspects of peacekeeping or other operations.  I'd like to lend my support to the thought that OCHA and DPKO consider providing us with a joint briefing on this in the future.

Thank you, Mr. President.


 

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