UNITED NATIONS, June 25 (Xinhua) -- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Monday proposed the use of new technologies, such as satellite imagery, to improve the efforts to protect civilians in armed conflict.
"The United Nations should consider making greater use of new technologies, such as satellite imagery, in the protection of civilians," Pillay said. "It is our responsibility to protect the lives of civilians using every tool available to us."
The statement was delivered by Ivan Simonovic, the UN assistant secretary-general for human rights, at an open meeting of the UN Security Council on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts.
"I urge the council to continue to include explicit provisions on protection and accountability in its resolutions," she said. " Where missions receive monitoring and other human rights mandates, they should be given the necessary material and personnel resources to carry out their duties effectively."
"The vast terrain and security environment in which they are often deployed may require helicopters and armoured personnel carrier," she said.
Pillay also said that appropriate human rights training be made available to UN peacekeepers in order to "equip them for their duties." She said that the monitoring and protection of human rights is essential for the UN to safeguard civilians in conflict around the world.
Pillay said hat she is "seriously concern by the reported deaths and injuries of civilians resulting from counter-terrorism operations carried out (not only) in Yemen, but also in Pakistan and Somalia."
Meanwhile, she praised the efforts made by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) as it persuaded the government of South Sudan "to embark upon voluntary disarmament exercise conducted with cooperation from community leaders."
Pillay also noted that the Integrated Monitoring Teams, which are often led by human rights officers, have taken on more than 60 missions, where further disarmaments have taken place.
"The supply of weapons to conflict zones is directly harming civilians, and the effort to address this problem is key to strengthening the protection of civilians around the world," she said.
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