• The United Nations alone documented over 33,000 civilian deaths in armed conflicts in 2023, a horrific 72 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

• The plight of civilians affected by war in 2023 was “resoundingly dire”, as the world witnessed horrors not only in Gaza and southern Israel but also the intense suffering of populations in other crisis hotspots around the globe.

• The harm and suffering caused to civilians in 2023 signals an alarming lack of compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

• The reality is that much of the civilian harm we see in today’s conflicts is occurring even when parties claim to be acting in compliance with the law.

• The UN released a report citing conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, the Sahel, Somalia, Syria and Ukraine.

• It pointed to incidents of violence against medical workers, facilities, equipment, transport and patients; the record-breaking displacement of 110 million people globally due to conflict and human rights violations; and staggeringly high levels of hunger driven by conflict.

‘Alarming lack of compliance’ with international law

• Tens of thousands have been killed and wounded in the Gaza conflict. Over 75 per cent of the enclave’s population is forcibly displaced and a famine is looming.

• In Sudan, the bloody conflict between rival militaries, which began in April 2023, has resulted in severe ethnic violence, particularly in Darfur and El Fasher. The risk of genocide exists in Sudan. It is real and it is growing, every single day. Between April and December, approximately 12,260 people were killed and a further 33,000 injured. Millions more have been displaced from their homes, including many who have fled into neighbouring countries, igniting a regional crisis.

• In Ukraine, the use of explosive weapons in populated areas was the leading cause of civilian casualties. In 2023, there was a 16 per cent increase in civilian casualties from landmines and explosive remnants of war, with 116 civilians killed and 383 injured. Ground and surface waters were exposed to harmful chemicals and pollution because of strikes on fuel infrastructure.

• Mali experienced 1,300 civilian deaths, while Myanmar saw increased conflict with airstrikes and shelling, particularly affecting urban areas.

• Violence in northeast Nigeria resulted in 4,533 civilian deaths, and more than 1,400 civilians were killed or injured in Somalia.

• South Sudan reported 1,527 civilian deaths and 597 abductions, while Syria reported 556 civilian deaths.

Attacks on critical infrastructure

• Critical infrastructure, including for the provision of electricity, water and healthcare, was damaged or destroyed and access to these services disrupted in numerous conflicts. 

• In Ukraine, repeated attacks against power plants and electrical substations disrupted the supply of power, heating and water, with millions of civilians put at risk during the winter months. Hostilities also continued to affect the provision of basic services, with 103 medical facilities and 294 educational institutions destroyed or damaged. Massive flooding following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam and hydropower plant in June 2023 damaged 37,000 homes, 37 education facilities and 11 health-care facilities and disrupted water and sanitation services for one million people. It has also had a long-term impact on the agricultural sector. 

• In Burkina Faso, water infrastructures were destroyed, impacting access to water for more than 149,000 people. 

• Hostilities in Gaza left 23 hospitals and 56 health-care centres out of service, 11 bakeries destroyed, 370 educational facilities damaged and at least 88 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) shelters hit, as well as widespread damage to agricultural infrastructure, including wells, farms and warehouses. 

• In Myanmar, bridges, key transport routes, telecommunication towers, schools, hospitals and power plants were targeted. 

• In Sudan, extensive damage to water, sanitation and electricity networks, as well as hospitals and clinics, was reported across the country. 

• In the Syrian Arab Republic, water infrastructure suffered extensive damage in attacks or was forced to shut down owing to loss of power, affecting access to water for millions of people.

Conflict-driven hunger and access to water

• Conflict was the major driver of acute food insecurity in 2023, displacing people from land and livestock grazing areas, destroying food stocks and agricultural assets and disrupting food systems and markets, leading to increased food prices or decreased household purchasing power, and decreased access to supplies required for food preparation, including water and fuel. 

• Globally, owing to gender inequality, women were disproportionately affected by food insecurity, and this increases their exposure to gender-based violence such as through resorting to negative coping strategies. 

• In 2023, approximately 117 million people experienced acute food insecurity (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) phase 3 and above) in 19 conflict-affected countries or territories. 

• In Gaza, infrastructure for food production, processing and distribution was damaged or destroyed by military operations or crippled by the long-standing closure of Gaza. By December, more than 90 per cent of the population of Gaza was estimated to be experiencing acute food insecurity, including some 577,000 people facing catastrophic levels (IPC phase 5). In December, experts warned of a risk of famine that would increase daily if hostilities and restrictions on humanitarian access persisted or worsened.

• In Sudan, the most acutely food-insecure populations were in conflict affected areas, such as Khartoum, Kordofan and Darfur. Three months into the conflict, 20.3 million people – almost half the population – were experiencing acute food insecurity, including 6.3 million people in emergency (IPC phase 4) from July to September 2023. 

The way ahead

• The current state of the protection of civilians is overwhelmingly tragic and serves as a grim and compelling reminder of the urgent need for parties to conflict to take all necessary steps to comply with international humanitarian and human rights law. 

• However, given the nature and extent of the harm to which civilians are exposed in contemporary conflicts, and the risk that harm will intensify as conflict evolves, the focus to date on compliance and accountability must be complemented by an approach that also takes into account the complexity and cumulative nature of the full range of civilian harm and that offers effective legal, policy and operational responses to address it. 

• While the full protection of civilians remains a distant goal, it is one to which all efforts must be directed.

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