Protection of Civilians
Expected Council Action
In May, the Security Council will receive the Secretary-General’s annual report on the protection of civilians (PoC) in armed conflict and hold its annual open debate on the topic. Representatives of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are expected to brief.
Background and Key Recent Developments
Civilians continue to bear the burden of proliferating armed conflicts worldwide and growing disregard for international law. In 1999—the year that the Security Council adopted resolution 1265 as its first thematic resolution on PoC, establishing the issue as a stand-alone issue on its agenda—the ICRC reported 20 armed conflicts globally and estimated that between 35 and 64 percent of conflict casualties were civilians. In 2024—the 25th anniversary of resolution 1265 and the most recent year for which there is complete data—the ICRC counted over 120 armed conflicts, and the civilian casualty ratio was 95 percent in incidents involving the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, the leading cause of the more than 36,000 civilian deaths that the Secretary-General’s annual PoC report recorded that year. That was an increase from the 33,443 deaths recorded in 2023, which already represented a 72 percent rise from 2022, mainly due to the war in Gaza.
This drastic deterioration in the protective environment holds across multiple protected categories and patterns of civilian harm. The year 2024 was the deadliest on record for journalists, humanitarian personnel, and healthcare workers in conflict. The UN recorded a 25 percent increase both in cases of conflict-related sexual violence and grave violations against children compared with 2023—a year in which the proportion of women and children killed had already doubled and tripled, respectively, from the year before. Displacement also reached record levels, with over 123 million people forcibly displaced by the end of 2024, an increase of six percent compared to the end of 2023, with children accounting for 40 percent of that total. Additionally, more than 295 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity worldwide—13.7 million more than in 2023 and the sixth consecutive annual increase—with conflict the primary driver for approximately half of that total, affecting nearly 140 million people across 20 countries and territories. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declared conflict-induced famine in parts of Sudan in December 2024 and in parts of Gaza in August 2025, marking the first time that the monitoring body detected two ongoing famines simultaneously.
Eroding respect for international law has fuelled these trends. As the Secretary-General’s 2025 PoC report observed, conflict parties increasingly rely on permissive interpretations of distinction, proportionality, precautions, and detention standards to justify high levels of civilian harm, which, combined with politically selective applications of the law and the uneven pursuit of accountability, have weakened the credibility of the normative framework. The ICRC has also described this pattern, emphasising the structural and interpretive erosion of international humanitarian law (IHL) through expansive targeting doctrines, reversals in disarmament commitments, irresponsible arms transfers, and emerging military technologies that strain the law’s protective purpose.
Speakers expressed concern about these trends at the last PoC debate, which was held on 22 May 2025. Greece—the Council president that month—convened the meeting at the ministerial level as one of its signature events. Members were briefed by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous, ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children US Janti Soeripto. The discussion focused on the need to enforce international law; safeguard humanitarian space; address the military impact of new and emerging technologies; and protect women, children, and humanitarian and UN personnel, among other issues. On 8 April, the Council held its second annual briefing on the protection of humanitarian and UN personnel, in accordance with resolution 2730 of 24 May 2024. (For more information, see the brief in our April 2026 Monthly Forecast.)
At this year’s open debate, a thematic area expected to receive particular attention is the protection of health care in conflict, as 2026 marks the tenth anniversary of resolution 2286 on the topic. Among other provisions, this resolution strongly condemned attacks on medical personnel, facilities, and transport; demanded that all conflict parties comply with their obligations under international law and facilitate safe and unimpeded passage for personnel engaged in medical duties; and urged states to develop effective measures to prevent and address attacks against medical personnel and facilities. It also requested the Secretary-General to report annually on the implementation of the resolution and to submit recommendations on preventive and accountability measures. Nonetheless, as noted above, independent monitoring groups documented a record number of incidents of violence against or obstruction of health care in conflict in 2024, identifying 3,623 such incidents that year—a 15 percent increase from 2023 and a 62 percent rise from 2022. The increase was driven by “intense and persistent violence” against health care in Gaza, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and Ukraine, among other contexts.
Key Issues and Options
The overarching challenge for the Security Council is the continued erosion of IHL and the normative framework on which it rests, as civilians increasingly bear the brunt of armed conflicts worldwide. Violations either perpetrated or supported by Council members themselves—including the permanent five members (P5)—have contributed to this trend.
In this context, strengthening accountability for IHL violations remains a key issue for the Council. To this end, members could consider launching a voluntary political initiative focused on the issue, for instance by adopting a “statement of shared commitments on accountability” modelled on similar initiatives concerning the women, peace and security (WPS) and climate, peace and security agendas. These voluntary pledges could commit Council members to using their terms to promote accountability for international crimes, including by holding joint stake-outs on the issue prior to relevant country-specific meetings; focusing on the topic in their national statements; bringing situations of widespread impunity to the Council’s attention; inviting briefers with relevant expertise, such as representatives of international tribunals and independent fact-finding missions; and more consistently applying PoC-related designation criteria in sanctions regimes.
Another expected focus of this year’s annual debate is the tenth anniversary of resolution 2286 on the protection of health care in conflict. To mark the occasion, Council members could consider adopting a presidential statement reaffirming the Council’s commitments and requesting the Secretary-General to provide a written update on the implementation of his 2016 recommendations.
The debate is also expected to address the protection risks posed by new and emerging technologies. These include the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in military targeting and decision-making, cyberattacks on essential services, and the digital spread of harmful misinformation in conflict settings. The Secretary-General’s 2025 report included for the first time a dedicated section on such threats, and this year’s report is expected to further explore them. As the Council has yet to institutionalise its consideration of these issues, members could consider establishing an Informal Expert Group (IEG) on Technology, Peace and Security to help lend coherence to its approach, as recommended in our March 2026 research report on the topic.
Council and Wider Dynamics
Council members still express broad rhetorical agreement that protecting civilians in armed conflict remains a core component of the Council’s mandate to maintain international peace and security. Deep divisions persist over how the Council should implement the PoC agenda in both thematic and country-specific contexts, however, as intensifying geopolitical divisions and gridlock have constrained its responses to multiplying protection crises.
This is evident in recent trends in Council products and language. Consistent with the general decline in the annual number of Council outcomes since 2021, the number of Council decisions containing PoC-related provisions has decreased in recent years, falling to 29 in 2025—the lowest number recorded in the PoC Dashboard maintained by the UN Security Council Affairs Division (SCAD), which tracks the Council’s PoC language going back to 1999. Meanwhile, the average volume of PoC-related keywords in each adopted decision has also decreased, with last year marking the lowest level since 2011. This overall decline in PoC-related decisions and language has persisted despite the global increase in armed conflict and civilian harms described above.
These trends are unfolding amid widening normative divergence among Council members. One recurring area of disagreement concerns the appropriate framework for humanitarian assistance. While Western members typically invoke the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, others—particularly China and Russia—have for some years emphasised the General Assembly’s 1991 resolution on the UN’s guiding principles for humanitarian assistance, which stress state sovereignty and host-country consent. These tensions have typically affected Council negotiations on PoC language across mandates and resolutions.
Similar disagreements have emerged in peacekeeping contexts. China, Russia, and some African members underscore the primary responsibility of the host state to protect civilians, whereas other members stress that the Council has an obligation to act in contexts where state authorities are unwilling or unable to ensure protection. This debate has taken on renewed salience as several UN peace operations with PoC mandates—such as those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Lebanon, Mali, and Sudan—have drawn down or transitioned amid worsening security conditions, often at the request of host governments.
Council members also differ in their views on the scope of the PoC agenda. Some have expressed concern that linking PoC to other thematic areas, including emerging threats such as climate change or AI, could dilute the agenda or exceed the Council’s mandate. Others view such linkages as necessary to reflect contemporary protection challenges.
Geopolitical tensions have further strained discussions of accountability. Western members tend to condemn IHL violations by Russia in Ukraine, while Russia and many Arab states are more strongly critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and allege Western double standards. During the ongoing Middle East crisis, all parties to the conflict have reportedly hit critical infrastructure and civilian objects—which may constitute war crimes—but the Council only condemned the strikes conducted by Iran. These dynamics have contributed to accusations of selectivity in the Council’s engagement on PoC and have complicated consensus on both country-specific and thematic outcomes.
| Security Council Resolutions | |
| 24 May 2024S/RES/2730 | This was a resolution on the protection of humanitarian personnel and UN and associated personnel and their premises and assets. |
| 3 May 2016S/RES/2286 | This condemned attacks on health care workers and facilities in armed conflict. |
| Secretary-General’s Reports | |
| 15 May 2025S/2025/271 | This was the Secretary-General’s annual report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. |
| Security Council Letters | |
| 22 November 2024S/2024/852 | This was a letter from the Secretary-General transmitting recommendations on measures to prevent and respond to attacks, violence, and threats targeting humanitarian personnel and UN personnel, as requested by resolution 2730 of 24 May 2024. |
| 18 August 2016S/2016/722 | This letter transmitted the Secretary-General’s recommendations on the protection of health care in armed conflict. |
| Security Council Meeting Records | |
| 8 April 2026S/PV.10131 | This was the Security Council’s annual briefing on the protection of humanitarian and UN personnel, held in accordance with resolution 2730. |
| 22 May 2025S/PV.9921 | This was the Security Council’s annual open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. The list of speakers consisted of over 50 member states, which led to the open debate continuing over the following two days (Resumptions 1 and 2). |