They are the victims of inter ethnic conflicts in Burundi and both actors and victims in Zaire.

Women are not just the victims of armed conflicts.

(a) Rwandan refugee victims of the conflicts in Burundi

Nonetheless, women are often regarded solely as victims of conflict.

In particular, children were the main target in armed conflicts and became the most vulnerable refugees.

They are, as we all are aware, the primary victims of this conflict.

(b) Rwandan refugees as actors in or victims of the conflicts in Zaire

Women are both the primary victims of armed conflicts of all kinds and indispensable participants in the resolution of any conflict.

In such intra State conflicts, the proportion of civilian victims has increased drastically.

B. Data on refugee populations and victims of war and conflict

Indeed, because they were the most vulnerable, children were the main victims of poverty, pandemics and armed conflicts.

The health sector bears the greatest brunt of the 14 years armed conflict in Liberia.

Women are no longer simply the victims of wars and conflicts they are increasingly an important part of the solution.

Considering that, among refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons, women and children are the majority of the population affected by conflict and bear the brunt of atrocities and other consequences of conflict,

Considering that, among refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons, women and children are the majority of the population affected by conflict and bear the brunt of atrocities and other consequences of conflict,

Politicization of humanitarian action was detrimental to the victims of armed conflicts.

It is true that a large number of children are victims of armed conflicts, but it is also true that malaria and AIDS kill more children than conflicts do.

Furthermore, as victims of exclusion, vulnerable targets in conflicts, mothers and breadwinners, women have high stakes in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and all issues related to peace and security in society.

It is a fact that women and children are the main victims of armed conflict and civil unrest.

Casualties of war, armed conflicts, including in situations of foreign occupation, are mostly civilians, the majority of whom are women and children.

We are blessed with what amounts to an international bill of human rights, among which are impressive norms to protect the weakest among us, including victims of conflict and persecution.

Women are always the first ones targeted during conflict.

Mr. Anshor (Indonesia) sought clarification regarding the rights of internally displaced persons to seek asylum when they were the victims of natural disasters rather than conflict.

In times of conflict, women and children have always been the victims without being able to participate in the processes of decision making in the areas of peace building, and the resolution and prevention of conflicts.

Considering that, among refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons, women and children are the majority of the population affected by conflict and bear the brunt of atrocities and other consequences of conflict,

In many ways more than in the past civilians form the bulk of the victims.

As a rule, women and children are the main victims of armed conflict, because conflicts confine them to places where they have no access to their basic needs for survival.

The damage caused by conflict tends to increase the obstacles to national protection, with the state apos s capacity to protect returnees often weaker in the aftermath of conflict than prior to flight.

Civilian populations have, in one way or another, suffered the consequences of each and every conflict throughout history.

First, it punishes two victims of the conflict southern Sudan and Darfur.

For the time being, however, the protection framework for the victims of natural disasters is less well developed than the protection afforded to civilians affected by armed conflict.

That continuing insecurity has a direct detrimental impact on the international community's ability to deliver assistance and provide basic services for the victims of the conflict.

Much hard work had been done to relieve the suffering of children who were victims of conflict, but much more needed to be done.

Mindful of the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross in offering protection to the victims of armed conflicts,

Emergency assistance was also extended to the victims of inter ethnic conflicts in the Masisi and Uvira Fizi regions.

By means of that resolution the international community chose to see women not merely as victims in conflict situations, but as active participants in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

To these should be added the changing nature of conflict, which has led to a blurring of the lines of distinction between victims and aggressors.

Far from being protected, the Kurds in the north had subsequently been the victims of deadly conflicts.

Given the geopolitical aspects of conflict today, we see that women often suffer and become victims because they are women.

Secondly, we must protect civilians from any harm that may befall them during or as a direct result of armed conflict.

The burden of proof is being turned upside down, since it will be for the victim to demonstrate that the injury suffered was not a reasonable consequence of the conflict.

It is striking evidence of the changing nature of conflict that civilians are no longer just incidental victims of armed conflict, but have increasingly become targets and even tools in warfare.

Women and children are especially vulnerable in situations of armed conflict.

Through its peacekeeping operations around the world, the United Nations has brought relief and hope to victims in conflict areas.

A sustainable transition from conflict to peace, however, depends on the prompt re establishment of national capacities that have been eroded by conflict.