In advance of mission drawdown, the Security Council should insist upon the articulation of benchmarks relating to the protection of civilians and on the establishment of a mechanism to measure and report progress against those benchmarks. Resolution 1923 (2010) on the situation in Chad provides useful examples in both these respects.

In addition to the various recommendations aimed at the Council and Member States, the Secretary-General's report identifies three actions that are implicit yet fundamental to enhancing our collective efforts to bring about more effective protection for civilians. First, we must ensure a comprehensive approach to protection.

Improving compliance by parties to conflict with international humanitarian law and human rights law remains particularly important, especially in the conduct of hostilities. In countries like Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and the Sudan, civilians are frequently targeted or fall victim to indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks.

Improved compliance with international humanitarian law and human rights law will remain elusive in the absence of and full acceptance of the need for systematic and consistent engagement with non-State armed groups.

I would like to draw particular attention to the concern raised in the report over the humanitarian impact of explosive weapons, particularly when used in densely populated areas.

I would join the Secretary-General in urging Member States, United Nations actors, and international and non-governmental organizations to consider the issue of explosive weapons closely, including by supporting more systematic data collection and analysis of the human costs of explosive weapons use.

I welcome the focus on compliance and access. However, if we are to succeed in improving both, humanitarian actors must be able to engage with non-State armed groups. A small number of States have expressed the concern that humanitarian engagement may afford such groups legitimacy. That is not supported by our experience.

I remain profoundly concerned at continuing reports of attacks, including aerial bombing, carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces in populated areas of the Jebel Marra region of Darfur. These have resulted in civilian deaths and injuries, and some 100,000 people have been displaced.

I look forward to working with the Council in the coming years in addressing protection-of-civilians concerns and issues relating to humanitarian action more broadly, as well as working with individual Member States. I also look forward to continuing the practice of bringing particular situation-specific concerns to the attention of the Council following my country missions.

I am encouraged that the majority of speakers have referred to the core challenges that we face in enhancing the protection of civilians and the need to redouble our efforts in that regard. Many speakers have underlined the need for compliance by parties to conflict with their obligations to protect civilians and the significance, in that respect, of ensuring the accountability of those who violate the law.