Advocacy - Wars in cities: protection of civilians in urban settings

Speech given by Mr Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for the UN Security Council Open Debate 25 January 2022.  Maurer points to rising death tolls and destruction, and the need to do more to respond to the rapidly changing manifestation of conflicts in cities. Specifically, he refers the the unacceptable harm of warfare on urban areas to civilians, the urbanisation of conflict and attacks on systems and infrastructure, and that guidance is needed to reduce the impact by applying international humanitarian law and other normative systems.