H.E. Ambassador Ham Sang Wook

Deputy Permanent Representative

Security Council Open Debate on “Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflicts”

23 May 2019

New York

                                                                                                                           <Check against Delivery>

Madame President,

Please allow me to begin by commending your initiative to convene today’s open debate on this critical issue. It is all the more meaningful as this year marks the 70^th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, as well as the 20^th anniversary of the Security Council’s inclusion of the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict as an item in its agenda.

Since its adoption, the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict has established itself as one of the core issues on the Security Council’s agenda; and the Council’s efforts to this end have yielded practical actions and successes.

However, despite twenty years of progress, civilians still remain disproportionate victims of armed conflict. The Secretary-General reports that throughout 2018, tens of thousands of civilians were killed, injured, or maimed due to armed conflicts around the world. Serious impacts of conflict on civilians including sexual and gender-based violence, forced displacement, and unlawful denial of humanitarian access continue to persist.  

Against this backdrop, I would like to stress the following three points.

First, to protect civilians in armed conflict, we need to focus on prevention. As Secretary-General Guterres has highlighted, prevention is the paradigm-shifting approach that closes the gap between commitment and reality. This supports the direction commonly underscored by the reviews on Peace Operations, the Peacebuilding Architecture, and on Women, Peace and Security.

In this sense, the Republic of Korea has been a champion of UN reform efforts so that the UN system can effectively support the peacebuilding priorities of Member States in addressing the challenges on the ground in a holistic manner. Prevention and sustaining peace was at the heart of our efforts as Chair and Vice Chair of the PBC in 2017 and 2018, and we are consistently increasing our financial contributions to the PBF, DPPA, and UNDP. This is geared towards strengthening the international community’s ongoing efforts in the promotion of prevention and sustaining peace.

Second, we need to elevate our level of effort in protecting vulnerable groups of civilians, such as women and children. The Secretary-General’s report highlights that conflict-related sexual violence persists in many armed conflicts, often as a part of a broader strategy.  In addition, armed conflict continued to have a destabilizing impact on children throughout the last year. One tragic example is Afghanistan where a record-high 927 children were killed due to conflict in 2018 alone. 

The Government of the Republic of Korea launched the Action with Women and Peace Initiative in June 2018 with a particular focus on protecting women from sexual violence in armed conflict. We are proud to host the first international conference under this important initiative in Seoul in July to strengthen global partnership in combating sexual violence in conflict.

Furthermore, as a member of the Steering Committee of the Global Coalition for Reintegration of Child Soldiers, the Republic of Korea is increasing its efforts to support the reintegration of former child soldiers, who are victims of armed conflict. We believe that a more comprehensive and well-funded reintegration program will help to fundamentally break the vicious cycle of violence.

Third, in order to improve implementation of protection of civilian mandates in peacekeeping operations, peacekeepers should be better trained for engaging with local communities and training guidelines should be explicitly produced for this purpose.

Long guided by the conviction that genuine peace stems from the minds of people, Korean peacekeepers have been working hard to win the hearts and minds of local populations. Such efforts have helped deliver mandates, while enhancing their own safety and security. Many of today’s conflicts escalate from local disputes over land, resources, and authority over a district. And community engagement would help to address these local conflict dynamics.

In this regard, mission personnel should be encouraged to strengthen in-depth knowledge of host societies, cultures, and institutions, as well as a command of local languages.

Madame President,

In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm the Republic of Korea’s commitment to working with the UN and all Member States with a view towards better protecting vulnerable populations in armed conflict.  

Thank you. /END/