Rules of war cannot be applied to Sri Lanka's war with the terrorists, UN representative says

Many of the rules of war were based on the presumption that the warring parties in an armed conflict are conventional armies of states and in Sri Lanka's case the LTTE terrorists totally disregarded those laws and principles, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN, Palitha Kohona pointed out to the UN Security Council yesterday (07).

In a statement delivered through a representative of the Sri Lankan delegation to the Security Council debate on civilian protection in armed conflicts, Kohona said Sri Lanka's experience in dealing with terrorists that used the civilian population as shields behind which to launch attacks showed the complexity of the challenges involved in civilian protection.

"Although a substantial normative framework had been developed for the protection of civilians, the politicization and selectivity characterizing the debate on implementation had affected its credibility, thereby calling into question the sincerity of the concerns expressed for the plight of civilians affected by armed conflict," Kohona's statement said.
"The issue could not be addressed on humanitarian terms alone, and nor could the normative framework be applied in a merely theoretical manner," the UN Ambassador noted.
The UN Ambassador told the Council that civilian displacement due to the conflict must not be politicized or turned into a theoretical problem. He called on the Council to develop a mechanism to hold non-State actors accountable as well and recognize the problems of asymmetrical conflicts.
Kohona highlighted the need to address the causes of armed conflict including the proliferation of small arms and light weapons which has contributed to the violence and terrorism.
"There was also a need to recognize the legitimate role of the military in civilian protection, though it was not an exclusive one," the representative told the Council.
Noting that although the principle of unimpeded access for humanitarian personnel must be respected, Kohona emphasized that it could not disregard the State's primary responsibility to ensure their safety and security.
"In Sri Lanka's experience, the military, often at huge cost, had had to bring civilians out of harm's way," he said, adding that military and humanitarian personnel must therefore seek to work in partnership.