Sixth Committee
18 October 2006
Status of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts
Statement by Ben Playle
First Secretary and Legal Adviser
of Australia to the United Nations
On behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand
(Check against delivery)
Mr Chairman,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of Canada and New Zealand in addition to Australia.
CANZ applauds the adoption in December last year of the Third Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, which establishes the red crystal as an additional protective emblem for humanitarian workers, free of any extraneous political or religious connotation. The red crystal will have the same status as the red cross, and the red crescent. This represents an important advance in furthering the universal character of international humanitarian law (IHL).
The adoption of the Third Additional Protocol, and consequent amendments to the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, allowed for the simultaneous admission into the Movement of the Israeli Magen David Adom Society and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. This was a crucial step towards ensuring that access to humanitarian assistance is universally available. The Protocol will enhance the protection of people affected by conflicts and natural disasters, and humanitarian workers who provide critical assistance to those in need.
More than 70 States have signed the Third Additional Protocol so far, and six have ratified. All three of our States have signed the Protocol, and are undertaking the relevant domestic processes to enable ratification. We urge all States to become Parties to the Third Additional Protocol. Its entry into force on 14 January next year will resolve a long-standing issue within the Movement, and will enhance the capacity of National Societies to deliver humanitarian assistance freely, safely and efficiently.
Mr Chairman,
CANZ similarly welcomes the accession of Nauru and Montenegro in June and August respectively to the four Geneva Conventions. Their accessions made the Geneva Conventions the only truly universal treaties with 194 States Parties. This is an historic achievement, and something in which the international community should take pride. Universal adherence to the Geneva Conventions attests to the continuing relevance and importance of IHL in today’s crises.
We call on all States which have not done so to also become Parties to the three Additional Protocols. They too should enjoy universality. CANZ welcomes the accession of Sudan in August to the First and Second Additional Protocols, which brought to 166 and 162 the respective numbers of States Parties to those Protocols.
Mr Chairman,
CANZ also wishes to acknowledge the tireless work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as the guardian of IHL. The ICRC undertakes valuable work to ensure that persons caught up in armed conflict are afforded the protections to which they are entitled.
The ICRC also continues to promote the understanding of the rules of IHL, including through its study on customary IHL. We have engaged in highly useful dialogues with the ICRC since the release of this study in March last year, and the study is already proving to be an important resource for States. The ICRC, with UN partners, also disseminates the rules of IHL to all parties to an armed conflict, which is crucial to promoting respect for IHL, and monitoring its implementation.
Mr Chairman,
CANZ continues to emphasise the need to ensure that fundamental rights, as enshrined in the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, are afforded to both civilians and combatants to mitigate the humanitarian impact of armed conflicts.
CANZ firmly believes the principles of IHL and human rights law must be respected by all in order to enhance the legal and physical protection of civilians in armed conflict. All three of our States are Parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. We also support other initiatives to protect civilians, including endorsement in the World Summit Outcome of the responsibility to protect.
The most important aspect of universal adherence to the Geneva Conventions and their Protocols is universal implementation by all. CANZ calls on all States to fulfil their obligations under common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions, and on the UN to be timely in its engagement, to be vigilant in its monitoring, and to have the political will to draw upon the full range of possible measures to protect civilians.
Thank you, Mr Chairman.