Credit:  By Gary Raynaldo  / Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz speaks on International Humanitarian Law and protecting children in armed conflicts with reporters outside United Nations Security Council chamber at UN world headquarters in New York Aug. 13, 2019. 

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

UNITED NATIONS  –  NEW YORK –  “Wars and violence deprive children of the most fundamental need,  which is security.  Protecting children and preventing their basic rights from being abused should continue to  be the United Nations’ key focus.”  Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz made the statement Tuesday after a United Nations Security Council debate  on International Humanitarian Law and protecting children in armed conflicts with reporters at UN world headquarters in New York.  Poland occupies the Presidency of the UN Security Council for the  month of August. Poland organized and chaired Tuesday’s crucial Security Council debate.  The Polish Foreign Minister Czaputowicz made it clear that during its period as President of the  Security Council,  the country will remind the international community of the necessity to respect  international humanitarian law under all circumstance  and to draw attention to the situation of civilians in armed conflicts including persons vulnerable to the negative consequences like children and members of religious community.

“Today, I drew particular attention to children with disabilities in armed conflicts who experience violence more often than their peers. Boys and girls with disabilities continue to be one of the most marginalized and exploited. In June 2019, on the initiative of Poland,  the Security Council unanimously adopted  the first resolution in history on persons with disabilities in armed  conflicts. The document highlighted the need to provide adequate support, humanitarian, and psychological,  in the re-integration processes.”

-Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz

The open debate focused on the UN Secretary-General’s annual report on children and armed conflict. The report centered on  six grave violations against children: recruitment and use; killing and maiming; abductions; rape and other forms of sexual violence; attacks on schools and hospitals; and the denial of humanitarian access. In 2018, more than 24,000 violations were documented and verified by the UN in 20 countries as compared to 21,000 in 2017. The number of cases of killings and maiming of children verified by the monitoring and reporting mechanism was 12,038, the highest recorded since that mechanism was established by Resolution 1612 in 2005. According to the report, there was also a significant increase in attacks on schools and hospitals. 

DIPLOMATIC TIMES Video /  Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz at United Nations world headquarters in New York Aug. 13, 2019. 

Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz at UN world headquarters in New York Aug. 13, 2019. 

Tuesday’s briefing organized by Poland marked the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the four Geneva Conventions, which regulate the conduct of armed conflict and are considered the cornerstone of international humanitarian law. Adopted on 12 August 1949 and universally ratified, the conventions established protections for vulnerable groups in armed conflicts – the wounded and sick on land and at sea, prisoners of war, and civilians.

Poland and German Foreign Ministers Confer Before UN Security Council Meeting 

Credit: twitterpolandmfa /  Poland Foreign Minister Czaputowicz’s visit in the UN to chair Security Council briefing started with a bilateral meeting with Germany’s FM Heiko Maas in New York Aug. 13, 2019.