Civilians still bearing the brunt of war, Annan says

[struggle4progress]

Civilians continue to bear the brunt of armed conflicts, and sexual violence – especially against women and girls – is increasingly used as a weapon of war, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report released today.

In a report to the Security Council on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, Mr. Annan cites the wars in Sudan’s Darfur region, Côte d’Ivoire, Iraq and Nepal as some of the worst examples where civilians have been suffering.
<snip>

In Darfur, for example, more than one million people have been displaced from their homes by the conflict there, while many others have been killed or raped and numerous villages have been destroyed.

In Côte d’Ivoire, there have been widespread cases of sexual violence, torture and murder, with ethnic communities often the target of campaigns of forced displacement.

Noting that rape is used as a weapon of itself or as a means to spread HIV/AIDS, he says the violence has been sustained by “a prevailing culture of impunity” for the perpetrators.
<snip>

Mr. Annan says it is vital that the UN sets out clear standards for the protection of civilians to make sure that they can be enforced and to help prevent countries that are undertaking peace processes from sliding back into conflict.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=10985&Cr=civilian&Cr1=conflict

[patrice]

1. This makes me sick to my stomache!!!

This child is dieing in an Iraqi hospital. He is dieing of diahhrea because of bad water. Apparently there is plenty of money for Haliburton, but not enough for this little boy.

I am ashamed to be associated with this war even indirectly.

[struggle4progress]

2. Disgusting greed causes tragic waste of life.

[gottaB]

3. Iraqi Kids Suffer at Underfunded Hospital

a previous DU thread, Iraqi Kids Suffer at Underfunded Hospital