New York, 24/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - Pierre Schori, Swedish Permanent Representative to the UN, when speaking on Monday on behalf of the EU to the open debate by the Security Council on the report by the United Nations Secretary General concerning the protection of civilians in armed conflicts, indicated that the Union fully supports the efforts by Mr Annan in view of creating a "culture of protection". Mr Schori noted in the context of the "crucial" work undertaken by the ad hoc tribunal on Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia and the intention to create a special tribunal for Sierra Leon and a panel on crimes committed in East Timor. Moreover, he indicates that the EU is favourable towards the idea that the Security Council conduct more frequent fact-finding missions in the conflict areas (notably to gain safe access to vulnerable populations) and the "early deployment of an international security presence, such as an international police force". Mr Annan identified a series of measures that, if they are applied, may have a positive impact on the civilians affected by conflicts, concluded Mr Schori, who also welcomes the proposal to regularly integrate into the UN mission mandates media monitoring mechanisms, public information on such missions being crucial for their success.