United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday denounced the “failure” of the international community to “protect” civilians in armed conflicts, as the number of victims of hostilities and their humanitarian consequences increased by more than 50% between 2021 and 2022.

The “horrible truth” is that “the world is failing to fulfill its commitments to protect civilians, commitments enshrined in international humanitarian law,” said the UN chief, who spoke before the Security Council.

The SA met yesterday, at the request of Switzerland, which holds its presidency this month, to discuss a report by Mr Guterres on the “protection of civilians in armed conflicts”.

According to the document, “in 2022, the United Nations has recorded at least 16,988 civilian deaths in 12 armed conflicts, or a 53% increase compared to 2021.”

In Ukraine alone, the UN “has recorded 7,957 civilian deaths and (another) 12,560 wounded, although the numbers are likely much higher” in reality, according to Mr Guterres.

Sitting next to Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, whose country launched a war against Ukraine fifteen months ago, the UN chief expressed outrage at the use of “explosive weapons” in the war, “94% of the victims of whose in populated areas are civilians”.

In front of the representatives of the fifteen member states of the Security Council, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC), Mirjana Spoliaric, pointed out for her part that “at this moment, countless civilians are living hell in the wars in Worldwide”.

“At any moment, the next missile can destroy their home, their school, the clinic where they are. Every day, their loved ones can be attacked, raped, arrested, tortured. Every week, they may lack food or medicine,” he hammered.

Referring to the humanitarian consequences of wars, Mr. Guterres pointed out that “last year, more than 117 million people endured acute malnutrition.”

On their side, the president of the Swiss Confederation, Alain Berchet, whose country is “a depositary of the Geneva Conventions (of 1949) and the seat of the ICRC”, warned: “Deliberately inflicting starvation on civilians is a war crime.”

The Swiss president denounced the suffering endured by civilians caught in the middle of wars in DR Congo, Sudan, the Sahel, Somalia, Myanmar, Afghanistan, or “other situations of endemic violence, for example in Haiti.”

For France’s ambassador to the United Nations, Nicolas de Riviere, this tally is “appalling”, the “very large increase in 2022 in the number of civilians killed in armed conflicts is very worrying”.

Mr. de Riviere focused specifically on “violations of international humanitarian law” that are “committed by Russia in Ukraine” and “by the Wagner group especially in the Central African Republic and Mali.”

“Civilians have been suffering the deadly consequences of armed conflict for far too long. It is time to keep our promise to protect them,” Mr. Guterres insisted.