UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday condemned attacks on civilians and aid workers caught up in conflict and called for their protection.
Guterres made the appeal on the occasion of World Humanitarian Day, which falls on Aug. 19.
"For the millions of people caught in conflict, struggling to find food, water, and safe shelter; who have been driven from their homes with little hope of return; whose schools have been bombed; and who await life-saving medical care, we cannot afford to fail," Guterres told a gathering at UN Headquarters.
The protection of civilians in conflict was difficult to implement. Even worse, more and more humanitarians became a target, and the UN flag was not respected as a symbol of impartiality in the context of those conflicts, he said.
The protection of civilians in conflict is a fundamental tenet of international humanitarian law. Yet in war zones all over the world, parties to conflict are flouting their obligations, routinely killing civilians in direct and indiscriminate attacks, and showing contempt for human life, said the secretary-general.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian workers who set out to aid, heal and protect civilians are themselves deliberately targeted for attack. Staff are killed, wounded and detained; aid and medical supplies are looted and obstructed; health clinics and hospitals are damaged and destroyed, he noted.
"Every civilian has a right to safety and protection. We must all do everything we can to deliver on this right. ... We must protect humanitarian and medical missions and prioritize the protection of civilians in United Nations peace operations. And we must prevent forced displacement and respect the rights of people who have fled violence, by pursuing durable solutions for all those who have been displaced, both inside their own countries and across borders."
For Guterres, who had served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for more than 10 years, the World Humanitarian Day has a special meaning.
"It is very difficult for me not to remember at this moment my more than 10 years of work with UNHCR, one of the central UN humanitarian agencies, and to say how shocked I always was" when seeing more and more civilians were a target.
"To see UN humanitarians, to see NGO humanitarians, to see other organizations' humanitarian workers be a target is something that was indeed horrifying. And to see some of my colleagues losing their lives in the line of duty has been one of the most horrible experiences I had in my life," he added.
Last year, there were 158 major attacks on aid workers around the world, during which 101 aid workers were killed, 98 wounded and 89 kidnapped, said Stephen O'Brien, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs.
The UN General Assembly designated Aug. 19 as World Humanitarian Day to commemorate the day on which the then special representative of the UN secretary-general to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and 21 of his colleagues were killed in the bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad in 2003.
