More action needed to combat civilian deaths: U.N.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Much more needs to be done to prevent the killing and displacement of civilians in places such as Darfur, Somalia, Israel and Columbia, U.N. humanitarian affairs chief John Holmes said on Tuesday.

Civilians continue to account for the majority of casualties in armed conflict, often in flagrant violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, Holmes told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on civilians in armed conflict.

In the first five months of this year, more than half a million people have been displaced by conflict, with 337,000 civilians fleeing Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, Somalia and Sudan, he said.

Holmes called for the creation of a Security Council expert group on the protection of civilians, which he said would be an informal forum bringing together all council member states.

"A more consistent approach to integrating the protection of civilians into all relevant aspects of the Council's work could make a very real difference to the lives of millions trapped in the chaos and horror of war," he said.

Ambassadors from council and other U.N. member states gave speeches expressing support for Holmes' statement.

After the debate, the Security Council unanimously approved a nonbinding statement saying it was committed to fighting all forms of violence against civilians in armed conflicts.

The statement said that such violence was often the result of "deliberate targeting, indiscriminate and excessive use of force and of sexual-agenda based violence."

In his speech, Holmes highlighted the Darfur region of Sudan, where civilians are the principal victims of attacks by Sudanese Armed Forces and the Janjaweed militia five years after the conflict began.

In Somalia last month, hundreds of civilians were killed or injured and thousands more forced to flee their homes by fighting in Mogadishu, he said.

He said Israeli civilians "remain subject to physical and psychological suffering caused by indiscriminate rocket and mortar attacks launched from" Palestinian territory. In Gaza, Israeli air attacks and ground incursions continue to cause "unacceptable Palestinian civilian casualties," he said.

In Colombia, non-state armed groups perpetrate killings, mass displacements, hostage-taking, sexual violence and forced recruitment of civilians, he said.

He highlighted the problems of sexual violence against civilians, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the police and judiciary have continually failed to take the issue seriously, he said.

"The stark reality remains that in conflicts throughout the world, countless civilians continue to see their hopes shattered by violence and displacement; their lives blown apart by suicide bombers or ground down by physical and sexual violence, deprivation and neglect," he said.

(Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau)

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)