The protection of civilians is at the centre of attention this week at the UN in New York

Switzerland has chaired the Group of Friends for the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in New York since 2007. This informal grouping of 27 states regularly consults on various aspects related to this issue and is committed to improving compliance with international humanitarian law. Switzerland has organised various meetings of the Group of Friends in the past, including on new technologies, missing persons, disinformation and selected geographical contexts. On relevant occasions, especially in the UN Security Council, the Group of Friends makes a united plea for better protection of the civilian population. As head of the Group of Friends, Switzerland usually coordinates and reads out these joint statements and organises the so-called Protection of Civilians Week ("PoC Week") every May: This platform brings together states, the UN and civil society to discuss current challenges.

As President of the UN Security Council, Switzerland has decided to dedicate this year's Open Debate of the Council on the Protection of Civilians to this important aspect. Five years after the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2417, which Switzerland strongly supported together with the Netherlands, the issue of the interaction between food security and armed conflict remains highly topical: according to the World Food Programme, 70% of the world's population suffering from acute hunger lives in conflict-affected areas. The protection of civilian infrastructure and basic services is closely linked to food security. By holding this high-level debate, Switzerland is sending a clear signal that decisive action by this body to implement the relevant resolutions is urgently needed. Switzerland, together with Brazil, holds the lead on food security in armed conflicts in the Security Council. The two so-called "co-focal points" are committed to ensuring that the body is informed in a timely and comprehensive manner about emerging hunger crises worldwide. At the initiative of Switzerland and Mozambique, the Security Council specifically addressed the issue of access to water and protection of water infrastructure in armed conflicts for the first time in March 2023.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is not only the oldest humanitarian organisation active today, but also Switzerland's most important humanitarian partner: one third of the Swiss budget for humanitarian aid goes to the ICRC. One focus is the commitment to missing persons. Every year, tens of thousands of people go missing as a result of armed conflicts. Switzerland and the ICRC launched the Global Alliance for the Missing in 2021. Its aim is to promote the search for missing persons and contribute to the prevention of disappearances by strengthening cooperation between the relevant actors and using joint diplomatic influence at global and regional level.

The Horn of Africa is one of the most fragile regions in the world. Armed conflicts, but also the consequences of climate change, have far-reaching consequences for the civilian population. These include food security and access to basic services, e.g. in the health sector. In order to be able to make a sustainable contribution to the protection of the civilian population, Switzerland focuses on resilience in crisis situations as early as the project planning stage: The SomRep (Somalia Resilience Programme) project, for example, strengthens the resilience of the people in Somalia and secures livelihoods in the most drought-affected and hardest-to-reach regions of the country by providing emergency water supplies, cash transfers, "cash for work", support for veterinary facilities to contain epidemics, and animal feed for livestock farmers. The UN Security Council is responsible for the mandates of peace missions, and Switzerland is committed to ensuring that their work also focuses on the protection of the civilian population.

The military takeover in 2021 has radically changed the context in Myanmar and created new challenges for the civilian population. Switzerland supports the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UNHCR and has deployed Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA) personnel to reinforce the various UN agencies on the ground. Switzerland finances several NGO projects in the field of humanitarian demining, the promotion of social cohesion in Rakhine and the improvement of access to basic services for the Rohingya. Switzerland discreetly promotes dialogue at national, regional and local levels to find solutions for safe and unhindered humanitarian access and de-escalation. Finally, Switzerland supports the efforts of the UN Security Council to resolve the conflict and consistently demands respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.

According to the latest report by the UN Secretary-General on the protection of civilians, Ukraine accounts for almost half of all civilian deaths in armed conflicts worldwide. Switzerland condemns Russia's military aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms and calls on Russia to cease all hostilities and immediately withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory. In the UN Security Council, Switzerland consistently advocates compliance with international humanitarian law. Together with 40 other states, it has referred the situation in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court. It has also supported the establishment of multilateral mechanisms that collect evidence of war crimes and make it available to national and international prosecution. Switzerland also provides humanitarian aid in hard-to-reach regions close to the front line, where the needs of the civilian population are particularly great. To this end, Switzerland works with local partners and supports them on the ground, for example with medical and physical protection equipment. In various forums, including the UN Security Council, Switzerland is calling for humanitarian access to areas of Ukraine under occupation by Russia's armed forces.