Today the UN Security Council held an “open debate” meeting assessing the UN bodies track record on protecting civilians in armed conflict situations. The meeting was opened with “briefings by top United Nations humanitarian, human rights and peacekeeping officials’ , and was subsequently followed by Statements by a number of member states.
Here is a summary of the proceedings.
A complete webcast of the meeting is also available here.
Oxfam also released a report (“Protection of Civilians in 2010”) coinciding with the SC meeting detailing “the international community’s record on protecting civilians in 2010.” According to a press release, ” the aid agency looked at 18 different armed conflicts that affected civilians throughout the world in 2010 and examined – amongst others – the number of civilians reported to have been killed, raped or displaced, as well as what actions the UN Security Council took or failed to take. The report also looked at the problem of child soldiers and at the number of aid workers killed in the course of 2010.”
The Lex Specialis 