On November 18, the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly concluded the consideration of the main part of its seventy-seventh session. The representative of Sweden, Julia Fielding, also on behalf of the sponsors, introduced the draft resolution A/C.6/77/L.19 on Status of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts, Item 81. The resolution was adopted by consensus, with support from 68 member states.
Mr. /Madame Chair, dear colleagues,
I would like to begin by congratulating and thanking you and the other members of the bureau for a highly successful session and express my delegation’s deep appreciation for all of the bureau’s efforts.
Mr. Chair,
I have the honour to introduce, the draft resolution under agenda item 81, entitled “Status of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts”, as contained in document A/C.6/77/L.19, on behalf of the 61 cosponsors listed in that document.
I am pleased to announce that the following Member States also join in sponsoring the draft resolution: Afghanistan, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Gambia, Lebanon, North Macedonia and Samoa.
The draft resolution is based on resolution 75/138 adopted in 2020, with necessary technical updates and it incorporates views and proposals put forward by delegations during the plenary debate and informal consultations as well as bilateral contacts on this item, so as to further strengthen this important biennial resolution which aims to increase acceptance of the Additional Protocols and enhance protection for victims of armed conflict.
Please allow me to address each of the main changes which were made to the draft resolution.
Firstly, a new preambular paragraph 8 was introduced to welcome the important role of relevant regional fora in promoting the respect for international humanitarian law.
We have also agreed to add two new preambular paragraphs, 18 and 19, which takes note with appreciation two Security Council resolutions adopted in 2021 – one (resolution 2573 of 27 April 2021) on the protection of civilian objects in armed conflict, [including objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population and objects critical to the delivery of essential services to the civilian population] and one (resolution 2601 of 29 October 2021) on the protection of children affected by armed conflict and facilitating the continuation and protection of education in armed conflict. Relatedly, new preambular paragraph 26 was introduced to note with appreciation Security Council resolution (resolution 2222 of 27 May 2015) on the protection of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in situations of armed conflict.
Turning to Operative paragraph 8 was expanded to include a reference to the new publication by the International Committee of the Red Cross entitled “Bringing IHL Home Guidelines on the national implementation of international humanitarian law.
Furthermore, newly introduced operative paragraph 9 calls upon Member States to actively participate in the thirty-fourth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in 2024.
Operative paragraph 12 commends the International Committee of the Red Cross for organizing the fifth Universal Meeting of National Committees and Similar Entities on International Humanitarian Law in 2021.
Finally, new operative paragraph 15 is proposed to welcome the increasing trend of voluntary reporting transmitted to the Secretary-General by Member States and encourages them to participate in the submission process at the seventy-ninth session.
This concludes my introduction of draft resolution A/C.6/77/L.19 . After the informal consultation on the draft resolution [held on 19 October and 1 November], I conclude that the text reflects a consensus among delegations. For this reason, I recommend that the Sixth Committee adopt the draft resolution without a vote.
I would like to thank delegations for their active engagement and cooperative spirit as well as for their support.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to the colleagues at the secretariat as well as the members of the Bureau for their invaluable assistance during the negotiations.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.