As delivered
Statement by H.E. Sanita Pavļuta-Deslandes, Latvia, at the UN Security Council Arria-Formula Meeting on Protecting Medical Care in Conflict Amid Evolving Threats (Resolution: 2286)
New York, 5 May 2026
Thank you Madam President,
I would like to thank Denmark, New Zealand and Spain for convening this Arria-formula meeting, marking a decade since the adoption of resolution 2286 on medical staff in conflict: a matter of significant importance that warrants our close consideration. I would also like to thank the briefers for your powerful messages and we pay tribute to all medical workers for the lifesaving work they carry out every day in the most dangerous circumstances.
At the outset of the 10th anniversary of the resolution, we are facing a harrowing reality. Attacks on healthcare workers and medical personnel have skyrocketed. Between 2024 and 2025 alone 3038 attacks were recorded. We see this pattern across the globe. In March, a drone strike hit a hospital in Darfur, killing 64 people, including 13 children. As verified by the World Health Organisation, Russia has conducted at least 2881 attacks affecting health care facilities, ambulances and medical warehouses in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion. As if attacks on medical workers were not the epitome of inhumanity, the use of double and triple-tap attacks bring these atrocities to a whole new level. In Lebanon, medical personnel have had to rescue and lose their own colleagues who themselves had gone out to provide medical aid shortly before. In August 2025 a double-tap strike hit Nasser Hospital in Gaza, killing 22 people, including five journalists. This is only a tiny part of the full picture
Conflicts are becoming more internationalised, with the vast majority of incidents against medical staff in 2024 attributable to State parties, 80% in fact, according to OCHA. Given that State involvement in armed conflicts is increasing, the responsibility of stopping these attacks rests largely with UN Member States involved in those conflicts.
States have both an obligation and a responsibility to prevent and address the spread of malicious narratives of those providing life-saving medical care. Unverified accusations of militarised medical facilities or compromised humanitarian aid workers have put countless medical staff at risk. Often the threats to medical staff and personnel are fueled by hate speech, disinformation and information manipulation campaigns. The effect of these activities is particularly amplified by the power and reach of online platforms. We cannot allow these activities to erode the legal protection of medical staff and personnel; international humanitarian law must prevail over manipulative narratives that seek to demonize and discredit those who provide care.
States cannot hide behind disinformation to evade their blatant violations or interpret their obligations contrary to established international humanitarian law. Members of this Council are responsible for implementing the commitments made in Resolution 2286 and holding the perpetrators accountable: we must call for investigations, identify the perpetrators, impose sanctions, and end the cycle of impunity that continues to endanger medical personnel and the facilities they rely on.
Madam President,
Medical personnel in conflict areas, often face the most heart-breaking choice - saving someone’s life or their own. Because they have seen their colleagues not returning home to their loved ones. International humanitarian law is rooted in our shared humanity; we therefore have a responsibility to protect those who risk everything to save lives. As we heard from the briefers - action or inaction - accountability or impunity is a choice.
Thank you.