Cyprus' Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Andreas Hadjichrysanthou made a statement to the UN Security Council on 25 May 2022 during the body's open debate on "Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict."
In his intervention, Mr. Hajichrysanthou referred to the latest report of the Secretary-General and stated that the number of civilians surviving in dire circumstances around the world remains extremely alarming, despite the clear international obligations of States to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure during armed conflict. He stressed that the war in Ukraine is evidence of the tragic impact on the civilian population.
Mr. Hadjichrysanthou referred in particular to the issue of the growing number of displaced persons (exceeding 80 million in 2021) as a result of armed conflict. He stressed that the Security Council must take a more active role to ensure that the right of displaced persons to return to their homes as soon as possible, that their right to property is respected and that there is no colonization of the areas they left behind. He recalled that Cyprus, as a victim of aggression, has experienced these phenomena and is aware of their difficult impact on civilians and their role in consolidating the results of the illegal use of force.
Referring to the humanitarian issue of the missing persons, Mr.Hadjichrysanthou pointed out that we need to strengthen international cooperation as well as to strengthen the mechanisms of investigation and identification. He underlined the importance of the relevant UN Security Council Resolution 2474 of 2019 which should be properly utilized and also noted that strong relevant provisions should be included in Security Council Resolutions regarding missing persons whose fate remains unknown for many decades, as in the case of Cyprus.
The Permanent Representative of Cyprus also referred to the need to protect the rights and fundamental freedoms of civilians under foreign occupation as well as the need to achieve accountability for serious crimes and violations of international humanitarian law, including the referral of such cases by the Security Council to the International Criminal Court.
In conclusion, Mr. Hadjichrysanthou stressed the great importance of the protection of civilians as part of the terms of reference of UN peacekeeping operations and called on the Security Council to continue to provide relevant information and to work to strengthen peacekeeping operations to this end.
(MG/EHR)
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