A/RES/54/192 Page 2 statement of the President of the Security Council of 12 February 19993 and the range of views expressed during the open debates of the Security Council on 12 February 19994 and 16 and 17 September 1999,5 on protection of civilians in armed conflicts, and bearing in mind the statements made by the President of the Council on 19 June 19976 and 29 September 1998,7 on protection for humanitarian assistance to refugees and others in conflict situations, as well as the statement made by the President of the Council on 8 July 19998 on maintenance of peace and security and post-conflict peace-building, Recalling the fiftieth anniversary on 12 August 1999 of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949,9 which reaffirmed the need to promote and ensure respect for the principles and rules of international humanitarian law, Noting with satisfaction the entry into force on 15 January 1999 of the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel of 9 December 1994,10 Deeply concerned by the growing number of complex humanitarian emergencies in the last few years, in particular in armed conflicts and in post-conflict situations, which have dramatically increased the loss of human lives, in particular of civilians, the suffering of victims, flows of refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as material destruction, which disrupt the development efforts of countries affected, in particular those of developing countries, Concerned by the increasingly difficult context in which humanitarian assistance takes place in some areas, in particular the continuous erosion, in many cases, of respect for the principles and rules of international humanitarian law, Strongly deploring the rising toll of casualties among national and international humanitarian personnel and United Nations and its associated personnel in complex humanitarian emergencies, in particular in armed conflicts and in post-conflict situations, and strongly condemning the acts of murder and other forms of physical violence, abduction, hostage-taking, kidnapping, harassment and illegal arrest and detention to which those participating in humanitarian operations are increasingly exposed, as well as acts of destruction and looting of their property, 3 S/PRST/1999/6; see Resolutions and Decisions of the Security Council, 1999. See S/PV.4046, S/PV.4046 (Resumption 1), S/PV.4046 (Resumption 1) and Corr.2 and S/PV.4046 (Resumption 2). For the final text, see Official Records of the Security Council, Fifty-fourth Year, 4046th meeting. 4 5 See S/PV.3977 and S/PV.3978. For the final text, see Official Records of the Security Council, Fifty-fourth Year, 3977th and 3978th meetings. 6 S/PRST/1997/34; see Resolutions and Decisions of the Security Council, 1997. 7 S/PRST/1998/30; see Resolutions and Decisions of the Security Council, 1998. 8 S/PRST/1999/21; see Resolutions and Decisions of the Security Council, 1999. 9 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, Nos. 970–973. 10 Resolution 49/59, annex. /...