Holy See Decries Use of Civilians as Shields

(January 16, 2009) Civilian casualties in conflicts are not just a side effect of war; rather, civilians are being purposefully used to achieve political or military gains, the Holy See says. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, attested this on Wednesday at the U.N. Security Council open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts. He noted that the Security Council has been dealing with the topic of protecting civilians for more than 10 years. "Yet," he said, "civilian security during conflict is becoming more and more critical, if not at times dramatic, as we have been witnessing in these past months, weeks and days in the Gaza Strip, Iraq, Darfur and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to name just a few." The Holy See representative lamented that the "overwhelming mistreatment of civilians in too many parts of the world does not seem to be just a side effect of war. We continue to see civilians deliberately targeted as a means for achieving political or military gains." Archbishop Migliore declared that in the past few days, there has been "practical failure, from every side, to respect the distinction of civilians from military targets." Archbishop Migliore contended that the first solution for such a scenario is "first and foremost good political will and action." "Protection of civilians must be based on a widespread responsible exercise of leadership," he stated. Finally, the Holy See representative lamented that the "increasing burden of war casualties and consequences imposed on civilians comes also from the massive production, continued innovation and sophistication of armaments." In this context, the archbishop's delegation expressed its support for the objectives of a U.N. general assembly resolution regarding an arms trade treaty, "which lays down the first important step toward a legally binding instrument on arms trade and transfers.” The archbishop also noted the support of the Holy See for the adoption of the Cluster Munitions Convention.