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	Conflict in Ethiopia creates humanitarian disaster by UN News, ICRC, Reliefweb, agencies   2 Apr. 2022   A convoy of aid trucks has entered Tigrayan-controlled Ethiopian territory for the first time in over three months, reports the World Food Program.   Aid trucks entered Tigrayan-held territory in Ethiopia on Friday, the World Food Program (WFP) announced. The UN food agency said it was the first time since December 15 that its convoys had been able to enter areas controlled by Tigrayan forces.   WFP's dedicated Ethiopia account noted: "Just arrived in Erepti and will soon cross into Tigray, bringing in over 500 mt [metric tons] of urgently needed WFP/partner food and nutrition supplies for communities on edge of starvation.. We expect to be in Mekelle soon. Another convoy with over 1,000mt of food is arriving into Northern Afar this afternoon to deliver to communities in dire need," according to the WFP. Mekelle is the Tigray region's capital, and Erepti is one of the six districts of the neighboring Afar region.   Malnutrition and food insecurity are at alarming levels in northern Ethiopia, according to the WFP. An estimated 9 million people in Tigray, Amhara and the Afar regions require food assistance due to the country's civil war.   Supplies of food in Tigray are "minimal," according to a recent report by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The main road between Afar's regional capital, Semera, and Tigray has been blocked since the middle of December.   The UN repeatedly called on the national Government to get aid into the north of the country and has called food shortages there "man-made."   In November 2020, war broke out in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The central government in Addis Ababa has been fighting rebels aligned with the political party in control of the Tigray region, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) for the last 17 months. In the past week, Addis Ababa has declared an immediate unilateral truce to permit aid into the Tigray region, though matters of enforcement remained unclear.   http://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ethiopia http://www.msf.org/urgent-increase-needed-humanitarian-response-malnutrition-crisis-northeast-ethiopia   1/4/2022 OCHA: Ethiopia.   This is the first time that the UN and partners have been able to move aid into Tigray by road since mid-December. Teams have also reached communities in Afar region with desperately needed food assistance.   It is critical that we now see sustained deliveries of relief supplies, fuel and cash into Tigray, and the continued expansion of the response in conflict-affected areas in Afar and Amhara.   Shortages of supplies, fuel and cash have severely undermined the ability of humanitarian organizations to respond to the increasingly acute situation in Tigray. Only about 1.2 million people have received food assistance in the past 5-and-a-half months, while more than 5 million should be assisted every 6 weeks.   During the past week, some 27,000 people received humanitarian health services though close to 4 million are in need of such support.   Lack of fuel also limits our ability to get these supplies from Mekelle to where they are needed. During the past week, the UN and NGOs were able to bring in limited amounts of cash into Tigray to support operations, after more than two weeks without clearance to get cash in. With banking services still suspended – along with other services like telecommunications and electricity – it is extremely challenging to pay local staff and procure items locally.   In Afar, insecurity continues to constrain access to many people displaced by recent fighting. Since late February, close to 30 percent of the 630,000 people targeted have received food assistance. In Amhara, the UN and NGO partners distributed food to more than 726,000 people during the past week.   ICRC resumes aid convoys to Tigray after six months   An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) convoy carrying medical assistance, food and water treatment supplies arrived in the Tigray region on Saturday, 2nd April 2022, through Afar. This is the first ICRC convoy reaching the region by road since September 2021.   "Many people affected by the conflict in Tigray live in extremely challenging conditions, unable to access healthcare, sufficient food supplies, and basic goods and services," said Nicolas Von Arx, the head of the ICRC delegation in Ethiopia. "In addition, a lack of medication and medical equipment has placed enormous strain on the region's health-care system and medical staff."   "The ICRC welcomes the current ceasefire and the willingness of the parties to the conflict to facilitate passage of much-needed humanitarian aid into Tigray," he added. "It is vital that the assistance keeps reaching the region on a regular basis."   http://www.unocha.org/story/daily-noon-briefing-highlights-ukraine-ethiopia-democratic-republic-congo http://reliefweb.int/country/eth   Jan. 2022   No food, no fuel, no funding: WFP's northern Ethiopia operations grinding to a halt   The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that its life-saving food assistance operations in northern Ethiopia are about to grind to a halt because intense fighting has blocked the passage of food.   The escalation of conflict across northern Ethiopia means that no WFP convoy has reached Mekelle since mid-December. Stocks of nutritionally fortified food for the treatment of malnourished children and women are now exhausted.   “We’re now having to choose who goes hungry to prevent another from starving,” said Michael Dunford, WFP’s Regional Director for Eastern Africa.   “We need immediate guarantees from all parties to the conflict for safe and secure humanitarian corridors, via all routes, across northern Ethiopia. Humanitarian supplies are simply not flowing at the pace and scale needed. The lack of both food and fuel means we’ve only been able to reach 20% of those we should have in this latest distribution in Tigray. We’re on the edge of a humanitarian disaster.”   More than a year into the conflict in northern Ethiopia, an estimated 9.4 million people require humanitarian food assistance. This is an increase of 2.7 million from just four months ago, the highest number yet. At the same time, because of fighting, food distributions are at an all-time low.   WFP plans to reach 2.1 million people with food assistance in Tigray; 650,000 in Amhara; and 534,000 in Afar Region.   WFP also warns it will likely run out of food and nutrition supplies for millions of people across all of Ethiopia from next month due to an unprecedented lack of funding.   http://www.wfp.org/news/no-food-no-fuel-no-funding-wfps-northern-ethiopia-operations-grinding-halt http://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ethiopia/ http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/01/1109802 http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/01/1109422 http://starvationaccountability.org/news-and-events/tigray-one-year-on-an-anniversary-of-famine-and-conflict   Sep. 2021   Up to 7 million people face hunger crisis in northern Ethiopia. (WFP)   As conflict spills across Northern Ethiopia, forcing 300,000 people from their homes and 1.7 million into hunger in Afar and Amhara provinces, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) appealed for funds to meet the needs of up to 12 million people this year.   This month WFP started delivering emergency relief food assistance to communities in regions bordering on war-torn Tigray. WFP plans to reach 530,000 people in Afar and 250,000 people in Amhara, but will scale up as needs increase and if funding is received.   Meanwhile in Tigray, food security continues to worsen as WFP and its partners struggle to scale up and meet the urgent food needs of 5.2 million people across the region.   Food stocks held by WFP and partners had been almost entirely depleted until yesterday, when the first convoy for over two weeks entered the region. The WFP-led convoy of over 100 trucks carried 3,500 metric tons of food and other life-saving cargo – including fuel and health and shelter items.   “WFP welcomes the recent collaboration from federal and local authorities in Afar to ensure our convoy finally made it safely into Tigray,” said Michael Dunford WFP’s Regional Director for Eastern Africa. “But much more is needed and this momentum must be sustained otherwise we cannot hope to deliver enough food to save millions from falling deeper into hunger.”   WFP teams on the ground can now start delivering the next round of food distributions in Tigray. WFP will reach up to 3 million people in the region, an increase of 900,000 since it took over operations in two north-western Zone districts - Shire town and Tahtay Koraro - from its non-governmental food partners.   “Time is running out for millions across Northern Ethiopia and if we don’t get additional funding right away we will be forced to cut rations or, even worse, halt distributions to some 4 million people we’re trying to reach in Afar, Amhara and Tigray in the coming months,” added Dunford.   http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-expands-emergency-response-7-million-people-face-hunger-crisis-northern-ethiopia   9 Aug. 2021   Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore on reported killing of hundreds of civilians, including children, in Afar, northern Ethiopia   “UNICEF is extremely alarmed by the reported killing of over 200 people, including more than 100 children, in attacks on displaced families sheltering at a health facility and a school in Afar region on Thursday, 5 August. Crucial food supplies were also reportedly destroyed in an area that is already seeing emergency levels of malnutrition and food insecurity.   “The intensification of fighting in Afar and other areas neighbouring Tigray, is disastrous for children. It follows months of armed conflict across Tigray that have placed some 400,000 people, including at least 160,000 children, in famine-like conditions.   Four million people are in crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity in Tigray and adjoining regions of Afar and Amhara. More than 100,000 have been newly displaced by the recent fighting, adding to the 2 million people already uprooted from their homes.   “UNICEF estimates a 10-fold increase in the number of children who will suffer from life-threatening malnutrition in Tigray over the next 12 months. The food security and nutrition crisis is taking place amid extensive, systematic destruction of health and other services that children and communities rely on for survival.   “The humanitarian catastrophe spreading across northern Ethiopia is being driven by armed conflict and can only be resolved by the parties to the conflict. UNICEF calls on all parties to end the fighting and to implement an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Above all, we call on all parties to do everything in their power to protect children from harm.”   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/statement-unicef-executive-director-henrietta-fore-reported-killing-hundreds http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/tenfold-increase-number-children-requiring-treatment-acute-malnutrition-tigray   June 2021   UN agencies concerned by looming famine in northern Ethiopia, call for urgent life-saving action to avert it.   The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF call for urgent action to address the dramatic acute food insecurity in northern Ethiopia. The three agencies are particularly concerned about the situation in Tigray region where the risk of famine is imminent, unless food, livelihood assistance and other life-saving interventions continue to be scaled-up, unimpeded access is guaranteed, and hostilities cease.   The call came in response to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, released today. The IPC is a global, multi-partner initiative - comprised of 15 UN agencies, regional organisations, and international non-governmental organisations - that facilitates improved decision-making through the provision of consensus-based food insecurity and malnutrition analysis.   According to the report, over 350,000 people are already facing catastrophic conditions (IPC 5, Catastrophe) in Tigray region. This is the highest number of people classified in IPC 5 Catastrophe in a single country in the last decade.   Over 60 per cent of the population, more than 5.5 million people, grapple with high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC3-5) in Tigray and the neighbouring zones of Amhara and Afar. Of these, 2 million people are in Emergency level of acute food insecurity (IPC 4) and without urgent action could quickly slide into starvation.   The severity of acute food insecurity is expected to increase through September, particularly in Tigray, with over 400,000 people projected to face catastrophic conditions (IPC 5, Catastrophe) without urgent and unhindered aid.   The UN agencies are particularly concerned by the risk of famine in Tigray if conflict escalates and humanitarian assistance is significantly hampered. The lack of reliable and comprehensive data on people’s food security situation in western Tigray is also deeply worrying.   “Rural communities in northern Ethiopia have been particularly affected by the conflict. Many farms have been destroyed and productive assets such as seeds and livestock lost,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu.   “It is imperative that we help these communities keep their families fed, and support local food production, paving the way for a faster recovery. But to help people on the brink of famine, we need resources and access – both of which remain a problem.”   “The brutal reality for our staff in Tigray is that for every family we reach with life-saving food, there are countless more, especially in rural areas, whom we cannot reach,” said WFP Executive Director, David Beasley.   “We have appealed for humanitarian access but are still being blocked by armed groups. The ability of people in Tigray to access vital services and for WFP to reach them with food assistance is essential to avoid a catastrophe. Access must be extended well beyond major cities to reach people in desperate need wherever they may be, with adequate assistance and without delay.”   “UNICEF is extremely concerned about the situation across Tigray as we see more and more young children and babies slide dangerously close to sickness and potential death from malnutrition,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.   “We are working with our partners to provide nutrition, health care and clean water support. However, without humanitarian access to scale up our response, an estimated 33,000 severely malnourished children in currently inaccessible areas in Tigray are at high risk of death. The world cannot permit that to happen.”   Causes of acute food insecurity   According to the IPC report, the key cause of acute food insecurity in Tigray is conflict as it has led to massive population displacement, widespread destruction of livelihoods and critical infrastructure, and loss of employment. Conflict has also limited access to markets.   An increase in conflict could push more people to flee their homes and prevent families from accessing food distribution points or other food and livelihood sources, noted the report.   Conflict-hit Tigray is already the most at-risk region with 4 million people - 70 per cent of the population – experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC 3 or above). Bordering areas in neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions, which host a large number of internally displaced persons from Tigray, have 60 per cent and 41 per cent of their populations in high levels of acute food insecurity (over 450,000 and 1 million people respectively).   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/un-agencies-concerned-looming-famine-northern-ethiopia-call-urgent-life-saving http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-42/en/ http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/least-33000-children-parts-tigray-ethiopia-imminent-risk-death-conflict-increases http://www.ifrcnewsroom.org/story/en/316/after-visiting-tigray-ifrc-president-calls-for-increased-humanitarian-response http://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/ethiopia/167-finding-path-peace-ethiopias-tigray-region http://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/virtual-library/official-statements/joint-statement-on-the-protection-of-children-affected-by-the-unfolding-situation-in-the-tigray-region-ethiopia/ http://news.un.org/en/tags/ethiopia   Dec. 2020   UN calls for humanitarian access to Tigray.   The head of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said he hoped humanitarian access to Ethiopia's northern Tigray region would be granted soon by national authorities.   "It is not possible yet, so I hope it will develop in the next few days," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi told a press conference from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.   Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared an end to a military operation in Tigray on Saturday after the army took control of the regional capital of Mekele, after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front forces reportedly withdrew from the regional capital to spare the civilian population from bombardment.   Grandi said Ethiopia's announcement that it had ended its military offensive "does not mean the conflict is finished."   Claims from both sides are difficult to verify as phone and internet links to the region have been down and access tightly controlled.   Thousands of people are believed to have been killed and many more displaced since the fighting began more than three weeks ago and there are still fears the conflict may destabilise the wider Horn of Africa region.   The UN and its humanitarian partners are deeply concerned about the plight of civilians in the Tigray region, especially in its capital, Mekelle, following the latest developments reported in the city, reports the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid.   Even before the recent fighting began, civilians in Mekelle, which is home to nearly half a million people, had endured weeks of fuel, cash and basic commodities shortages. Civilian infrastructure had also been damaged. There are also reports of critical shortages of medical supplies in Mekelle and across the Tigray region needed to treat people injured during the clashes.   The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that hospitals in Mekele are running "dangerously low" on supplies to care for the wounded. It said a referral hospital in the city is lacking basic supplies such as gloves.   "The influx of wounded forced the hospital to suspend many other medical services so that limited staff and resources could be devoted to emergency medical care," the ICRC said in a statement.   Humanitarians report that affected people have been forced to rely on untreated water to survive following the damage and destruction of water infrastructure.   They say it is critical that essential supplies and services are restored immediately in Mekelle and across the Tigray region.   The conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region continues to displace people within the country and towards Sudan. In Sudan, humanitarians are reporting complex logistical and operational response challenges. Nearly 45,500 people are now seeking refuge in the country, most of them children.   Mr. Grandi said he is also very concerned about the fate of nearly 100,000 Eritrean refugees in Tigray amid reports that some have been abducted.   http://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/ethiopia-threat-major-hostilities-mekelle-seriously-imperils-civilian-lives-bachelet http://www.icrc.org/en/document/waging-war-cities-deadly-choice http://www.icrc.org/en/where-we-work/africa/ethiopia http://www.icrc.org/eng/war-and-law/protected-persons/civilians/overview-civilians-protected.htm http://guide-humanitarian-law.org/content/article/3/civilians/ http://guide-humanitarian-law.org/content/index/ http://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul http://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/ http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/ProtectionOfCivilianPersons.aspx http://www.safeguardinghealth.org/   * Agenda for Humanity: Respect the Rules of War: http://bit.ly/2EiXwpt   * Report of the UN Secretary-General on the protection of civilians in armed conflict: http://bit.ly/2q9Dk6x   Nov 2020   Amid emerging reports of mass killings in the town of Mai-Kadra, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has expressed increasing alarm at the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Ethiopian region of Tigray.   She warned that if the Tigray regional forces and Ethiopian Government forces continue down the path they are on “there is a risk this situation will spiral totally out of control, leading to heavy casualties and destruction, as well as mass displacement within Ethiopia itself and across borders.. “The first priority right now must be to stop the fighting and prevent any further atrocities from taking place.”   The UN Human Rights Chief said she had received reports from a variety of sources suggesting increased airstrikes by Government forces as well as fierce ground fighting between the opposing forces.   “I am also extremely alarmed at reports of cuts to essential water and electricity supplies, in addition to the communications blackout and blocking of access by road and air,” she said. “This means there is already a dramatic impact on the civilian population, in addition to the risk of death or injury as a result of hostilities.”   The UN Human Rights Chief repeated her earlier appeal to both sides to begin talks with the aim of an immediate cessation of hostilities.   “I strongly urge both sides to realize that there will be no winner in such a situation and begin a serious dialogue to resolve their differences without delay,” Bachelet said. “A protracted internal conflict will inflict devastating damage on both Tigray and Ethiopia as a whole, undoing years of vital development progress.”   Ethiopia: Protect People as Tigray Crisis Escalates. (Human Rights Watch)   Early on November 4, 2020, the Ethiopian government began military operations in Tigray, one of the country’s semi-autonomous regions, in what Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed claimed was a response to an attack on a federal military base by the ruling party in the region, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).   “Tight restrictions on access for aid agencies and communications mean that millions of people in Tigray affected by the fighting are at grave risk,” said Laetitia Bader, Horn of Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Federal and regional authorities should respect the right to life and take all necessary measures to assist and protect the population.”   The fighting follows a year of growing tensions between the federal government and the Tigray authorities. The situation worsened after the federal government reconfigured the ruling coalition, into a single party and postponed highly anticipated national elections, citing Covid-19-related health risks.   Several opposition parties condemned the decision, including the TPLF, which held its own regional elections in September, in defiance of the federal government’s decision.   Following the alleged attack on the federal military base, phone and internet communications were swiftly cut in the region, and the federal government soon after announced a round of airstrikes in areas around the regional capital, Mekelle.   Hundreds of people were reportedly killed and injured on November 9 in an incident around Mai Kadra, in western Tigray where much of the fighting has occurred.   Authorities on both sides need to protect the population from the fighting, facilitate immediate and unhindered access to aid workers to help all those in need, and conduct an impartial investigation into the incident, Human Rights Watch said.   Six humanitarian agencies reported that the movement restrictions and the communication shutdown were significantly hampering their activities, including tending to those wounded and killed in the fighting.   Access into Tigray is blocked, including by road and air, while the border with Sudan remains partially closed, based on reports by the media and humanitarian agencies. Prior to the outbreak of fighting, reports highlighted that food and fuel were already in short supply, with over 600,000 people relying on food aid to survive.   The region is also home to 100,000 internally displaced people and 96,000 Eritrean refugees. Nearly 44 percent of those living in refugee camps are children.   Humanitarian reports on the situation in Tigray also highlight that the closure of banks and restrictions on essential goods such as food, water, fuel, electricity, and medical supplies risk compounding the suffering of a population already in need.   Under international human rights law, the Ethiopian government bears the primary responsibility to meet the needs of people on its territory. Lifting broad restrictions on services and granting humanitarian agencies access is essential to provide necessary aid to affected populations and avert a looming humanitarian crisis, Human Rights Watch said. The Tigray regional authorities are also responsible for addressing the needs of people under their effective control.   While the phone and internet shutdown has made it difficult for journalists and aid workers to document and confirm reports of the situation on the ground, Ethiopians outside the region have also been cut off from their relatives in Tigray.   Under Abiy’s administration, phone and network shutdowns have become routine during social and political unrest, including in the Oromia region, where the government has engaged in counterinsurgency operations within the last year. The current military action follows recurrent episodes of violence and unrest that have flared up throughout the country since 2018, leading to the displacement of nearly two million people since the start of 2020 alone.   http://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/ethiopia-protect-people-tigray-crisis-escalates http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2020/11/5fb391214/pace-ethiopian-refugee-arrivals-sudan-unseen-decades.html http://theconversation.com/ethiopias-tigray-region-has-seen-famine-before-why-it-could-happen-again-150181   http://www.icrc.org/en/document/ethiopia-icrc-calls-respect-peoples-lives-and-property-amidst-escalating-tensions-tigray http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/11/ethiopia-investigation-reveals-evidence-that-scores-of-civilians-were-killed-in-massacre-in-tigray-state/ http://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/ethiopia/ethiopia-not-too-late-stop-tigray-conflict-unravelling-country http://reliefweb.int/country/eth Visit the related web page
	Civil Society agencies call for Urgent Action to Protect Civilians by Non Government agencies, UN News, ICRC   In the more than 20 years of consideration and prioritization of the protection of civilians in armed conflict by the UN Security Council, significant progress has been made in building an international normative civilian protection framework.   However, compliance with the laws and norms that safeguard civilians has deteriorated along with the safety and security of civilians caught in armed conflict. Conflicts of today continue to have devastating impacts on civilians, critical civilian infrastructure, protection,livelihoods, education, health systems, and food and watersecurity, particularly when explosive weapons are used in populated areas.   As the world faces the unprecedented challenge of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, those living in conflict-affected countries are among the most vulnerable and at risk from the devastating consequences of the disease. They live in countries such as Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan, Syria,and Yemen, with weakened or decimated health infrastructure, where those working to help them are targets of attack and where humanitarian access is challenging.   Constraints placed on peacekeeping operations, severe restrictions on rights and freedoms, and devastating socio-economic impacts may contribute to political destabilization, exacerbate existing armed conflicts, or lead to the emergence of new protection risks for civilians.   There is a limited window of opportunity to effectively respond to this crisis and demonstrate global solidarity. Now more than ever the UN Security Council, Member States, and the UN System must take urgent, bold and practical steps to respond to the challenges that remain to the protection of civilians in armed conflict.   We call on UN Member States to consider and support the following four key recommendations in advance of the coming UN Security Council Open Debate on the protection of civilians:   1 . Reaffirm your commitment to the protection of civilians and to promoting and implementing international humanitarian law and other applicable legal and policy frameworks and call on parties to armed conflict to do the same. Call to end impunity, notably by holding perpetrators to account, especially on every deliberate attack on healthcare and education facilities, and support international independent investigative and prosecution mechanisms.   The greatest advance in protection of civilians can and should come from parties to conflict upholding their obligations under international humanitarian law and other applicable frameworks;   2. Demonstrate leadership by articulating the practical steps and financial decisions taken to promote protection of civilians. Make bold, forward-looking political and financial commitments to translate laws and norms that safeguard civilians in conflict zones into practice.   Accord peacekeeping operations with protection of civilians mandates, adequate financial resources and staffing to carry out protection tasks, including senior protection advisors, uniformed and civilian gender advisors, women protection advisors, child protection advisors, and community liaison assistants and language assistants. Prioritize investment in and support to women-led organizations given the disproportionate impact of conflict on women and girls and the dearth of women in leadership roles.   Support the development of an international political declaration to strengthen the protection of civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Harm to civilians can be prevented if countries and armed actors take concrete steps to prioritize protection.   The UN Secretary-General has called for action at the national level, including: first, by developing national policy frameworks on the protection of civilians; second, by maintaining a principled and sustained engagement with humanitarian organizations and non-state armed group to negotiate safe and timely humanitarian access and to promote compliance; and third, by ensuring accountability for violations.These recommendations remain as relevant and urgent as ever.   Moreover, the Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN Peacekeeping Operations includes a number of commitments that, if implemented, can help peacekeeping perations better protect civilians.   Finally, the call for action made by 22 civil society organizations last year ahead of the Open Debate on protection of civilians provides a comprehensive set of practical recommendations to improve implementation and better protect civilians. A roadmap is available. It is now up to the Member States, the UN, and civil society to take action and lead the way translating the laws and norms safeguarding civilians into practice.   3. Commit to a robust and sustained dialogue with civil society on the protection of civilians beyond the yearly debate. Greater outreach to women and girls in conflict-affected areas is needed to encourage and enable their full, equal and meaningful participation in decisions that will impact their lives and communities.   Sustained political will and continuous discussion on good practices and remaining challenges is needed to move the agenda forward thematically, particularly in country-specific contexts.   Civil society organizations are key to helping civilians protect themselves, including through unarmed approaches. Civil society organizations are also essential to the systematic collection of information and data regarding threats to civilians and civilian harm incidents, including grave violations against children, enabling more efficient and effective solutions to the protection of civilians in conflict.   Civil society organizations work at global, national and local levels with communities affected by conflict and are uniquely positioned to connect stakeholders across all levels.It is critical that the voices of those they serve, including women, girls and boys, persons with disabilities, the displaced, and those most marginalized, are elevated and heard at the global level, particularly during these trying times.   4. Support all efforts by the UN Secretary-General and the UN System to prevent, respond to and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 particularly in countries experiencing armed conflict, including the Secretary-General’s call for global ceasefire.   The threat posed by the global coronavirus pandemic to countries ravaged by armed conflict, and its disproportionate impact on women, girls and boys, calls for immediate and resolute action by the international community, especially by parties to armed conflict. Conflict-affected nations will be severely impeded in preparing and responding to COVID-19 if fighting continues.   In the short term, the biggest loss of life may come from an erosion of humanitarian access continuity of programming. It is therefore critical that states and all parties to conflict use this opportunity to reaffirm the core humanitarian principles and recommit to facilitating safe and timely access to humanitarian assistance and protection to affected civilians.   This includes removing restrictions on movement for health and humanitarian workers, barriers for humanitarian supply chains, disproportionate responses by security forces, unreasonable bureaucratic impediments, and counter-terrorism provisions that unduly hinder the provision of principled humanitarian assistance.   It also includes ensuring that a robust gender analysis underpins all aspects of COVID-19 responses, so that instead of exacerbating harmful social norms or exposing women and girls to even higher levels of gender-based violence, we use the pandemic as an opportunity to rebuild more equal, inclusive and resilient communities.   Moving forward, governments must also ensure that security forces exercise restraint in the enforcement of COVID-19 related measures and adhere to domestic and international law so as to not exacerbate the suffering of civilians.   # Endorsing Organizations:   Action Against Hunger; Airwars; CARE; Center for Civilians in Conflict; Childfund Alliance; FIDH; Global Centrefor the Responsibility to Protect; Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack; Humanity & Inclusion – Handicap International; The International Network on Explosive Weapons; International Rescue Committee; NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security; Nonviolent Peaceforce; Oxfam; Pax; Plan International; Refugees International; Save the Children; War Child; Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict; Women’s Refugee Council; World Vision International http://bit.ly/3yNEbJD   http://civiliansinconflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Joint-NGO-Statement-May-2019.pdf http://www.icrc.org/en/document/without-urgent-action-protect-essential-services-conflict-zones-we-face-vast-humanitarian http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/new-unicef-report-highlights-scale-and-impact-attacks-water-and-sanitation http://reliefweb.int/report/world/under-secretary-general-humanitarian-affairs-and-emergency-relief-coordinator-mark-37 http://reliefweb.int/report/world/report-secretary-general-protection-civilians-armed-conflict-s2021423-enarru http://www.unocha.org/protection-civilians-week-2021 http://agendaforhumanity.org/cr/2/index.html#2A http://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/ http://poc-aide-memoire.unocha.org/theme http://guide-humanitarian-law.org/content/index/ http://www.theguardian.com/law/2021/may/25/explosive-weapons-used-in-cities-kill-civilians-91-of-time-finds-study http://news.un.org/en/story/2021/05/1092732 http://news.un.org/en/story/2019/04/1035861 http://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/protected-persons/civilians Visit the related web page
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