Opening remarks at the Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, delivered by Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, emphasize that civilian protection is a binding international obligation, not a courteous gesture. The speech notes that across the Sahel, Sudan, DRC, Gaza, the Middle East, and Kashmir, civilians endure bombardment, displacement, hunger, sexual violence, destruction of homes and livelihoods, and denial of humanitarian access. It stresses that occupation does not suspend international law; it amplifies the duties of the occupying power. In Palestine, the speech calls for unhindered humanitarian access and realization of the Palestinian right to self-determination and statehood. In Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, civilians suffer from foreign occupation, militarization, arbitrary detentions, restrictions on freedoms, demographic engineering, and denial of self-determination. The Joint Communication of UN Special Procedures from October 2025 is cited, detailing arrests of about 2,800 individuals, demolition of homes, blocking of 8,000 social media accounts, and 64 incidents of hate speech between late April and early May 2025. The speech argues that the problem is not unclear norms but lack of compliance, accountability, and political will. It welcomes the Global Initiative to Galvanize Political Commitment to International Humanitarian Law and hopes its recommendations will improve compliance, strengthen national implementation, and translate commitment into ground protection. Pakistan advocates five priorities: 1) universal respect for international humanitarian law without selectivity; 2) stronger accountability to deter and punish civilian targeting and related abuses; 3) unhindered humanitarian access; 4) greater emphasis on prevention and peaceful dispute resolution, with reference to Resolution 2788; 5) governance of emerging technologies to prevent civilian harm while using tech for warning, demining, aid delivery, and casualty tracking. The remarks underscore that for a child under bombardment protection is not legal jargon but a matter of survival, and for a displaced family it makes the difference between hope and despair. It concludes with a pledge to support international law, accountability, peaceful settlement, and civilian protection wherever at risk, insisting that civilians are not collateral damage. Opinion: The speech effectively foregrounds the moral and legal duties to protect civilians and channels concern to both established law and practical mechanisms, but it faces the challenge of translating high level rhetoric into enforceable action given geopolitical divides. While the five priorities are sound, real progress hinges on concrete enforcement mechanisms, robust monitoring, and cross regional accountability, as well as sustained political will from member states to confront violations regardless of who perpetrates them. The call for regulating emerging technologies is timely and necessary, but the implementation will require interoperable norms and verifiable oversight. The inclusion of Kashmir and Palestine underscores a consistent Pakistan position on self-determination issues, which will resonate with some UN members but may constrain consensus with others. Overall, the speech contributes a principled, rights centered frame for civilian protection and rightly emphasizes prevention and accountability as practical goals. It remains to be seen how the council translates these commitments into protections on the ground, but the insistence that civilians are not collateral damage aligns with the founding purpose of the United Nations and should guide future action.
Source: Statement from @PakistanUN_NY
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Published: May 20, 2026, 9:52 pm
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