Vietnam co-hosts UN discussion on environmental protection in armed conflicts
VOV.VN - Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, permanent representative of Vietnam to the UN, has highlighted the significance of tackling environmental issues and restoring the environment following conflicts as a means of contributing to reconstruction, helping civilians to quickly stabilise their lives.
Speaking during an online discussion held with the theme of “Protecting the environment is protecting civilians”, Ambassador Quy said in April when the nation served as President of the UN Security Council (UNSC), the council had consented to adopt Resolution No. 2573 on “Protection of Objects Indispensable to the Survival of the Civilian Population”. This affirmed its strong commitment to protecting the lives of civilians alongside promoting the observance of international humanitarian law.
He used the platform to outlined how agent orange (AO)/dioxin had led to serious consequences throughout Vietnam, adding that up to three million Vietnamese citizens are now AO victims whilst hundreds of thousands of hectares of land nationwide has been contaminated with the chemical toxin.
It therefore requires a long period of time and great resources to handle the consequences of AO, the Ambassador stressed.
The Vietnamese diplomat went on to thank UN member states, organisations, and the wider international community for their support of the nation in dioxin remediation and helping AO victims.
Christopher Harland, legal advisor at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), cited international humanitarian law which states that protecting the environment also serves to protect citizens.
Wim Zwijnenburg, an expert from the Dutch peace organisation PAX, said the impact of environmental degradation, hunger caused by conflicts, and the climate crisis, have had a range of serious impacts on civilians.
Dominick de Waal, an expert from the World Bank, suggested that efforts should be co-ordinated between development and humanitarian agencies in order to boost the resilience of people.
The discussion, co-organised by the Vietnamese permanent mission to the UN and their counterparts from Niger, Costa Rica, Belgium, and Switzerland, the UN Environment Programme and PAX, took place within the framework of the Protection of Civilians (PoC) Week 2021.
This marked the second time that the country had co-organised a side event on this topic.