United Nations Security Council resolution 1296, adopted unanimously on 19 April 2000, after recalling Resolution 1265 (1999), the Council discussed steps to enhance the protection of civilians during armed conflict.

Resolution

Observations

The Security Council regretted that the majority of victims of armed conflicts were civilians. There was concern in particular that vulnerable groups such as women, children, refugees and

internally displaced person An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. ...

s were targeted. All parties involved were referred to the importance of compliance with the

United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the ...

and international law with regards to international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law.

Acts

The council strongly condemned deliberate attacks on civilians and emphasised the need to consider ways to best protect civilians. The majority of victims were internally displaced persons and vulnerable groups and therefore were afforded protection under

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

. Systematic and widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in situations of armed conflict could constitute a threat to international peace and security. It was important that civilians had access to humanitarian aid, and a denial of assistance constituted a violation of international law. At the same time, it was important that aid agencies remained

neutral Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...

during conflict. The resolution noted that the council would include measures for

demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milit ...

demilitarisation Demilitarisation or demilitarization may mean the reduction of state armed forces; it is the opposite of militarisation in many respects. For instance, the demilitarisation of Northern Ireland entailed the reduction of British security and militar ...

and reintegration of ex-combatants and child soldiers, disposal of

weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, ...

s and ammunition, and resources for the protection of civilians in immediate danger. Such measures would include security zones or corridors to protect civilians and the facilitation of humanitarian assistance in instances of

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The peacekeeping missions could also include a component for the dissemination of information on international law through mass media. The security council also took note of the entry into force of the

Ottawa Treaty The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction of 1997, known informally as the Ottawa Treaty, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or often simply the Mine ...

in 1997 and the positive impact it would have on the safety of citizens. Furthermore, the destabilising effect of small arms was recognised with regard to prolonging conflicts and distribution of humanitarian aid. Finally, the Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

was asked to continue his work and submit a report by 30 March 2001 on the situation of civilians in armed conflict.

References

External links

*
Text of the Resolution at undocs.org
{{UNSCR 2000 1296 1296 April 2000 events

Resolution

Observations

Acts

See also

References

External links