Introductory remark on “the Responsibility to Protect”

Session I: Protection of Civilians and Responsibility to Protect – in an African Context

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

I am honoured to open this Training for Peace seminar on African security issues here at NUPI, and to meet all those present who – in different ways – are working to strengthen the protection of civilians in conflicts. I would particularly like to welcome the Institute of Security Studies, a leading capacity in its field, along with other TfP partners, and to thank NUPI for hosting this seminar.

 

Over the past 15 years Training for Peace has trained thousands of African police and civilian experts for peace operations in Africa, and this capacity building effort is being strengthened as we speak, across the African continent. A key achievement of the programme has been to place the civilian dimensions of peace operations on the agenda in places still dominated by military thinking, in Africa and globally.

 

Decades of experience has taught us this lesson: We need a comprehensive, multidimensional approach to peace-keeping: stronger emphasis on human security; better recognition of the links between security and development; and stronger emphasis on measures to protect civilians. For ordinary people, what really determines the success of a peace operation is its ability to protect the civilians that are affected by conflict – in other words, peace not only on paper, but on the ground.

 

Protection of civilians - and the doctrine of “Responsibility to Protect (R2P)” agreed upon at the UN Summit in 2005 – are increasingly important for our joint efforts for peace and security. In his report earlier this year, the Secretary General underlines three major points: First, every country has the responsibility to protect its citizens. Second, the international community should assist in building capacity in order for all states to honour these obligations. And third, the UN Security Council has a responsibility to act if states fail to fulfil their obligations. The capacity building through Training for Peace is one element in Norway’s contribution to both these concepts – protection of civilians and R2P.

 

We all agree that we must respect human rights and international humanitarian law, and that civilians are entitled to protection in armed conflicts. Nevertheless, the reality differs starkly from the established regulations. In too many conflicts the protection of civilians fails. Over the past decades the face of war has changed. Civilians are caught in the midst of armed conflicts, at the centre of targeted attacks. We see a widening of the definition of “legitimate targets” and a too liberal interpretation of the rule of proportionality. As a result, the protection of civilians is weakened, human rights are violated and international humanitarian law is being undermined.

 

According to bodies such as the Human Rights Watch, up to 90 per cent of casualties in modern warfare are civilians. They are killed, maimed, raped and abused by a variety of groups and individuals – and sadly many of the perpetrators enjoy de facto impunity. This has to stop! These developments are unacceptable, and they are a common concern for us all.

 

During the high-level week of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York last month I hosted the Trygve Lie symposium. I invited colleagues from France, Indonesia and other countries, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN system. There we discussed ways to strengthen the implementation of international humanitarian law.

 

We agreed to strengthen our joint commitment to the protection of civilians and to implement relevant Security Council resolutions. We agreed that international humanitarian law provides us with the legal tools that are needed – but the tools must not be left unused in the toolbox.

 

We need a broad discussion on how IHL should be interpreted and implemented in the current context of modern armed conflicts, so that adequate protection for civilians is ensured. We also need to ensure that those responsible for violations of IHL are identified and held accountable.

 

The success and credibility of international norms will be measured by the impact they have on the ground. A main challenge now is to translate policy to concrete and effective measures. In Africa, for example, Security Council resolutions 1325, 1820 and recently 1888 provide strong international backing for effective action against sexual and gender based violence, with particular emphasis on the need to protect women and girls. Now we need to proceed, from resolutions to practice.

 

We heard some concrete examples last week from the UN envoy for Chad Victor Angelo on how MINURCAT is carrying out its mandate to protect civilians, when he visited Oslo. Concrete measures have been taken – restoring UN control of the refugee camps, bringing water supplies into the camps, systematic patrolling of areas where firewood is being collected, introduction of gender units in the national police and gender sensitisation, and lastly increased deployment of female police.

 

In eastern DRC we fund medical support for victims of sexual violence and contribute civilian monitors to MONUC to strengthen the UN’s awareness and ability in countering sexual and gender based violence. We are also considering contributions to international efforts to provide legal and police expertise in order to address impunity and train Congolese police.

 

While some measures can be implemented rapidly, some will require more complex and long term solutions. We need more systematic knowledge about what it takes to provide effective protection of civilians on the ground. That is why, at the Trygve Lie symposium, I proposed a series of field studies; both on how IHL is in fact applied on the ground, and on the humanitarian and developmental consequences. Important lessons should be learned from the ICRC’s experience in the field, and from states that have made their rules of engagement available to the public. Contributions from other field experts, including UN and civil society, will also be essential.

 

On sexual and gender based violence in Africa more specifically, I know that NUPI – among others – carry out field studies in the DRC and in Chad, and that ISS and other Training for Peace partners provide reports on gender and security issues across Africa. Lessons learned from such field studies could be used as a basis for consideration of new initiatives and practical measures in order to strengthen our efforts.

 

At the Trygve Lie symposium I also proposed that such field studies could be followed up with a series of regional meetings, and I am willing to host a first conference in Oslo to initiate such a process. Issues related to the work against sexual and gender based violence should form important part of such a process.

 

Norway is also looking forward to the DPKO and OCHA study on how to draw practical lessons from UN peace-keeping missions with civilian protection mandates. Such lessons should also inform the larger New Horizon process that the UN is conducting to improve UN peace keeping in general.

 

It will be important to support the efforts being made in the UN system and not duplicate or replace them. And we need to keep the end goal firmly in sight: to provide better protection of civilians on the ground, in Africa and in other conflict areas.

 

My government, together with the UN and several African countries, is looking for ways to shorten the gap between policies and practice on these issues. I believe that several of those institutions that are present here today can contribute to finding solutions that work well on the ground.

 

Let me conclude my introduction by encouraging a close and substantial dialogue with such organisations on how to take this critical work further – as you provide for here today at NUPI. I look forward to hearing the other speakers, who have extensive field experience on these issues, and to our discussion afterwards. Thank you for your attention.