Talk Is Cheap: Security Council Resolution 2286 & the Protection of Health Care in Armed Conflict

In May 2016, as attacks on health care in armed conflicts were increasing globally, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2286, demanding warring parties comply with their international obligations to prevent and address such attacks. The resolution was adopted unanimously by the Council and cosponsored by eightyfive UN member states. New data collection and public attention on attacks against health care at the time signaled that, contrary to scholarly expectation, the Council might use tools already at its disposal to ensure compliance with the resolution. Yet in the years that followed, the Security Council and states took few concrete steps to implement Resolution 2286. In this essay, we identify and analyze barriers that prevented the use of existing structures and mechanisms to influence the conduct of war. We contend that the experience of Resolution 2286 can tell us a great deal about the value of such resolutions as a response to pressing issues of humanitarian concern.