Mr. President,

It is indeed disturbing as the world moves toward the twenty-first century, a new millennium of hope and of great expectation, that the international community still finds itself ever more frequently faced with civilian casualties, including children, in armed conflicts. All the more so as we observe this year the fiftieth anniversary of the Geneva Conventions.

Even more tragic is the fact that while the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War is founded in the principle that the humane treatment of inhabitants serves the values of humanity and decency to which all sides may subscribe, we find that in contemporary warfare civilians have become the deliberate targets by combatants as a means of pursuing their objectives.

Thus, while the international community has crafted a rather comprehensive framework of international humanitarian law, the rights of displaced persons, of refugees and the human rights of civilians in situations of armed conflict are often neglected. Therefore, the stress is and should be on their implementation. In this context, since international law does not take precedence over national law, a balance must be sought so as not to violate national sovereignty as well as the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Experience shows that such violation will only in the long run exacerbate the situation and condition.

Of equal concern to the international community is the growing threat faced by humanitarian workers who risk their personal safety for the noble purpose of alleviating suffering and hardship. Assaults on humanitarian operations are particularly threatening in the light of the fact that the vast majority of conflicts occur within States, which are almost always accompanied by large-scale internal displacement and refugees flows, and which call for a UN rapid and effective response by its various agencies and Funds. We must secure the protection of humanitarian personnel if this aspect of the Organization's work is to successfully continue.

In this regard, we concur with the assertion of the President of the ICRC, that "the bottom line for any action by humanitarian organizations is that it must have received the consent of each and every party concerned."

Many have called for the root causes of conflicts to be addressed, and has clearly voiced the link that exists between social and economic development and peace and stability. Indonesia would agree that effective measures for that purpose could be achieved through close cooperation between the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council; and that neither are equipped to exclusively and comprehensively deal with these issues.

Mr. President,

The Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Countries, when they met in Durban September of last year, stressed the need to differentiate between peace- keeping operations and humanitarian assistance. Indeed, they are two different kinds of responses to two different kinds of situations. We have witnessed in the past few years that peacekeeping operations have little chance of success when addressing humanitarian situations. On the other hand, it is very difficult for humanitarian organizations to maintain their impartiality and neutrality if escorted by armed guards. This dilemma of protecting civilians in armed conflict is not new, as our predecessors fifty years ago in Geneva would testify. But the UN is equipped to address this very difficult but very important issue.

In concluding, Mr. President, I should like to reiterate Indonesia's strong support for the humanitarian operations of the United Nations, as well as the need for the Organization to strenuously work to uphold established international humanitarian law. We will continue to contribute to that effort.

Thank you.