Statement delivered by Ambassador Ranko Vilovic, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Croatia to the United Nations, on the UN Security Council Meeting on UNHCR.
We welcome today's briefing and would like to thank High Commissioner Guterres for providing us with a comprehensive overview on the current global trend regarding refugees and IDPs as it pertains to the role of the Security Council and the challenges these situations pose for regional and international peace and security.
Given the fundamental inter-linkages between peacekeeping, peace-building and humanitarian activities towards attaining durable peace, Croatia is concerned to learn that there is an increasing trend of the number and complexity of refugee and IDP situations worldwide since the High Commissioners last briefing in 2006. Besides existing crisis areas, these are relatively new ones, and there is no solution of refugee and IDP crises without political commitment.
We commend the tireless work of the UNHCR staff in conditions described by the High Commissioner's briefing. Those of us who visited some crisis affected areas in Africa last June witnessed this first hand.
In addressing contemporary forms of threats to peace and security in a world of increasingly inter-connected threats, Croatia believes that new emerging causes of forced displacement are intrinsic factors that cannot be overlooked by the Council in its future work.
In light of the Council's forthcoming debate on protection of civilians in armed conflict, the High Commissioner's briefing is particularly timely in underscoring the importance of protecting the physical security of refugees, IDPs, as well as humanitarian workers called for by a number of Security Council resolutions. Croatia is especially concerned by the increased use of sexual violence as tool of war and in post conflict refugee situations. While recognizing the need to protect all vulnerable members of refugee populations, including woman and children, Croatia is committed to safeguarding women's rights in conflict situations and continually seeks the strengthening of women's roles in all aspects of post-conflict building.
With regard to the situation in Gaza, Croatia hopes that the agreement for opening up a humanitarian corridor will be adhered to by all sides for the benefit of the civilian population there.
It is our hope that today's briefing will serve as a catalyst for resuming the practice of regular briefings by the High Commissioner to the Council. Croatia believes that such briefings would prove to be a value-added asset to the Council's comprehensive approach when establishing and renewing increasingly complex multi-dimensional peacekeeping and peace-building mandates.
In addition to universal international legal instruments, we hope that the AU Convention on the Protection and Assistance for IDPs will be adopted and soon enter into force, and that it will help to coordinate activities that will lead to the alievation of the refugee and IDP crisis in Africa, the part of the world most affected by forced displacement.
Finally, drawing on Croatia's first hand experience of working with the UNHCR and lessons learnt in dealing with its own refugee and IDP situation during armed conflict and in the pursuing post-conflict years we would like to reiterate Croatia's full support of the High Commissioner's mandate.
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