Statement by H.E. Sanita Pavļuta-Deslandes, Permanent Representative of Latvia to the UN at the UNSC Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians
20 May 2026
Thank you Mr. President.
I thank Mrs Wosornu, Director of OCHA and Mrs Spoljaric Egger, President of the ICRC, for their powerful briefings.
Violations of IHL are on the rise; in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, South Sudan, the DRC, Myanmar and the list goes on. An increasing number of attacks on civilians, humanitarian personnel and journalists are horrifying and beyond any justification. It is impossible to fully capture the immense suffering inflicted on civilians in a single intervention, but I will make three points.
Firstly, this is not a crisis of law, it is a matter of compliance and impunity. Attacks against civilians are increasingly attributable to States that tend to rely on assertions of military advantage. Yet, the military advantage of attacks endangering civilians and medical personnel is often questionable and disproportionate, while the harm inflicted on civilians – if they survive - is life altering and can last for decades, if not permanently. Parties to all conflicts must abide by international humanitarian law; a baseline of our shared humanity through which the international community agreed that such attacks ignoring the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution are a breach of international obligations. Latvia stresses the importance of holding the perpetrators accountable: we must call for investigations, identify the perpetrators, impose sanctions, ensure reparations for victims and end the cycle of impunity. The International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice are instrumental in delivering justice for victims and survivors and should be supported. Accountability efforts must also integrate the Women, Peace and Security agenda, ensuring that crimes, such as conflict-related sexual violence, disproportionately affecting women and girls are documented, addressed and remedied, and that their voices are central to achieving peace.
Secondly, 20 per cent of these casualties are children. Twenty thousand Ukrainian children have been forcibly unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred and around 1.6 million children are militarized by Russia. Thousands of bodies of children remain under the rubble in Gaza. Roughly half of the gang members in Haiti are children, some as young as 8 years old. International humanitarian law entitles children affected by armed conflicts to special respect and protection, including age-appropriate treatment in detention; access to education, food and healthcare; reunification of unaccompanied children with their families; and protection from recruitment. Our support to children affected by armed conflict, particularly children formerly recruited, should be trauma-informed and gender-sensitive. We must support UN mandated missions in the areas of child protection, such as the deployment of child protection advisors in peacekeeping operations to provide specialized expertise [on child protection], including monitoring and reporting to achieve accountability. The same applies to UN peacekeeping mandates for women protection.
Thirdly, new technology does not mean new rules or, even worse – no rules. With AI and autonomous systems becoming a reality on the battlefield, we need to reiterate that the use of new technologies has to be in line with international humanitarian law. AI enabled systems cannot displace human cognitive agency, judgment and responsibility. Given that armed forces have rapidly expanded investment in AI and its deployment on the battlefield, we call on all States to identify ways to harness its potential to better the protection of civilians.
The use of drones in conflict areas has also increased sharply. A nuanced and context-specific understanding of drone use that adheres to international humanitarian law is essential: while risks and potential harms are significant, there may also be circumstances in which their use can contribute to efforts to protect civilians and support informed decision-making in armed conflict. This is why Latvia facilitates cross-sectoral dialogue to promote a shared understanding of the key risks and protection challenges, associated with the use of drones and related technologies, as well as potential opportunities for their use to protect civilians. As the Council, we should have further discussions on the intersection between conflicts and new technologies that take on board perspectives from all sectors.
Mr President,
Latvia welcomes the Global Initiative to Galvanize Political Commitment to International Humanitarian Law and calls on all States to join. The protection of civilians is not only about the harm on the front lines; behind there are human beings, children, women, men, families. It is about protecting innocents who are dragged into conflict. It is about our shared responsibility to uphold the standard of humanity and the UN Charter that we all agreed on.
Thank you.