Eden Wasorno, Director of the Crisis Response Department of OCHA, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, speaking at the Security Council meeting on the protection of civilians, said that data from 20 armed conflicts showed that in 2025 a civilian was killed approximately every fourteen minutes.
She added that in 2025 the United Nations recorded more than 1,350 attacks on health workers and medical facilities in 18 conflicts, while 147 million people faced acute food insecurity in the same year, largely due to conflict.
At the same time, she said sexual violence remains widespread, with the United Nations recording more than 9,300 cases last year, the vast majority of which involved women and girls, while the true number is undoubtedly much higher.
Protecting civilians in armed conflicts is not charity, she said, it is the minimum that humanity and civilization require.
Ms. Wasornu spoke on behalf of Tom Fletcher, the Emergency Humanitarian Coordinator, and stressed the need for all states to fulfill their commitments under the United Nations Charter.
Greece, in its intervention, underlined that the international community is facing a "deep and worsening crisis", in an environment of "flagrant disregard" for international humanitarian law.
The Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations, Ambassador Aglaia Balta, referred to more than 130 armed conflicts around the world, including Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Syria, Lebanon, South Sudan and Yemen, emphasizing that the reality for civilians is far from the protection framework that has been established.
He specifically mentioned Ukraine, where the number of civilians killed or injured in 2025 increased by 31% compared to 2024, Gaza, where at least 20,000 Palestinians were killed in 2025, as well as Sudan, which remained the world's largest displacement crisis.
Greece stressed the need for all parties to fully implement international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as well as the political responsibility of States to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. In this context, it recalled its membership of the Global Initiative to Strengthen Political Commitment to International Humanitarian Law and supported the Declaration on the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel.
At the same time, Ms. Balta stressed accountability, calling for independent, thorough and effective investigations, prosecution of those responsible, protection of survivors and compensation for victims. She also underlined the need to protect medical and humanitarian personnel, to avoid the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, to ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access and to increase the capacity of peacekeeping and civilian missions to reach populations in need.
Particular emphasis was also placed on new technologies, as, as noted, the increasing use of drones, the use of artificial intelligence in warfare and the use of information and communication technologies for the spread of disinformation, disinformation and hate speech pose serious risks to civilians. Greece underlined that it is the shared responsibility of States to create safeguards for the responsible use of technology, in a manner compatible with international law, while calling for the protection of children and the strengthening of the participation of women and girls in protection efforts.
In closing, Ms. Balta emphasized that protecting civilians and alleviating their suffering is a “legal and moral imperative” and called for action “with urgency and determination.”
