Mr. Chairman, both the International Committee of the Red Cross and my own Office the United Nations High Commissioner have unique mandates to protect individuals. ICRC protects victims of conflicts. Both organisations are faced today with the shockingly frequent and blatant disregard of the most elementary humanitarian principles, many of which are codified. Internal conflicts, whether in Bosnia and Herzegovina, central Asia, the Caucasus, Somalia or other parts of Africa, display daily images of lawlessness and inhumanity. Civilians are denied access to food, water and medical help.
Children are deliberate targets of snipers.
We have passed the threshold of what is tolerable in modern warfare, especially as regards the treatment of civilian populations. Before we attempt to further develop international humanitarian law, we must demand the scrupulous respect of existing principles and instruments. The Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols contain provisions which, if heeded, would go a long way towards reducing human suffering and the uprooting of civilian populations. Mr. Chairman, respect for international humanitarian law and related legal instruments must be complemented with the strict observance of other basic humanitarian rules. Until recently, these principles had, with very few exceptions, been upheld by parties to conflicts on the five continents on which my Office has been called upon to act.