As civilian casualties from multiple conflicts have soared, the Holy See’s diplomat to the United Nations has called for a renewed respect for human dignity and international law, and a commitment to end the scourge of war. Source: Catholic Review.
“It is fundamental that, even in the midst of conflict, the protection of the human person and its inherent God-given dignity remain at the centre of all collective efforts, also in order to avoid the scourge of war,” said Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See’s UN permanent observer, in a statement to the UN Security Council’s open debate on civilian protection amid armed conflict.
The Holy See established diplomatic relations with the UN in 1957, representing the Vatican City state as well as the supreme authority of the Catholic Church, including the pope as bishop of Rome and the head of the college of bishops.
In his address, Archbishop Caccia stressed that during conflict, “The human person must never be treated as expendable, or reduced to mere collateral damage.”
In 2024, the UN counted more than 36,000 civilian deaths in 14 armed conflicts, warning that the actual total is “likely far higher”.
More than 120 conflicts are taking place throughout the world, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Among the most prominent are Russia’s war in Ukraine; the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip; civil wars in Myanmar and Sudan; insurgencies in various African nations, as well as in Afghanistan and Pakistan; and armed gang violence that has destabilised Haiti.
Archbishop Caccia noted that the Holy See remains “deeply concerned about the increasing number and intensity of armed conflicts across the world, which continue to inflict profound and disproportionate suffering on civilian populations”.
The archbishop pointed to routine attacks on civilians as both “an immense human tragedy” and “a grave affront to the foundations of international security.”
He said the Holy See viewed it as essential to end the use of “indiscriminate weapons, landmines and cluster munitions” and halt “the deployment of explosive weapons in populated areas.
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Holy See calls for respect for human dignity, international law as civilian deaths soar (By Gina Christian, OSV News via Catholic Review)
