Protection of Civilians
During armed conflict civilians face daily threats of violence and death as they find themselves caught up in the middle of a conflict. Despite being protected under international humanitarian and human rights law, civilians may be deliberately targeted by belligerents. These deliberate attacks can include campaigns of sexual violence or deliberate killings to instil fear and coerce compliance from the local population. Protection of civilians refers to activities that may be diplomatic, military, or humanitarian in nature to protect civilians from the effects of conflict. See also section on human rights.
Categories
Documents
UK Government Strategy on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict
| Date added: | 07/03/2011 |
Institution: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
Publication Date: 2010
Keywords: Protection of Civilians, Comprehensive Approach
Read Full Text Here:http://www.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/about-us/our-publications/ukstrategy-protect-cvilians-arms-conflict
Relevance:
This paper is the core UK Government policy document on the Protection of Civilians in armed conflict and highlights the lesson that protection of civilians requires a comprehensive approach combining defence, diplomatic and humanitarian actors and activity. It was drafted collaboratively between Stabilisation Unit’s three parent departments and should therefore be standard reading for anyone working in conflict environments or on cross-Whitehall ap... Read More
Trends in Armed Conflicts: One-Sided Violence Against Civilians
| Date added: | 04/04/2012 |
Author: Ekaterina Stepanova
Institution: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Publication Date: 2009
Keywords: Protection of Civilians, Conflict
Read Full Text Here: http://www.sipri.org/yearbook/2009/files/SIPRIYB0902.pdf
Relevance
The term ‘one-sided violence’ has gained increasing traction when analysing how civilians are affected by today’s wars. It refers to atrocities directed against human beings who are not armed or in any other ways take part in armed conflict. Examples include rape, terrorism, forced recruitment, reprisals, summary executions, collective punishment, deliberate population displacement, ethnic cleansing, but also threat of violence such as intimidation. It can be carried out by any side or party to a confl... Read More
The Responsibility to Protect
| Date added: | 12/08/2011 |
Institution: Report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty
Publication Date: December 2001
Keywords: Conflict; Protection of Civilians; Stabilisation
Read Full Text Here: http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/ICISS%20Report.pdf
Relevance:
The doctrine of ‘responsibility to protect’ has evolved out of recent lessons learned by the international community, particularly in relation to the failure to intervene effectively in a number of contexts in the 1990s. This report is relevant to anyone working on stabilisation, as it reflects on how to reconcile two objectives: enhancing the sovereign capacity of states and improving the ability of the international community to protect people in mortal danger. The... Read More
Rules of Engagement: Protecting Civilians through Dialogue with Armed Non-State Actors
| Date added: | 07/03/2012 |
Institution: Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
Publication Date: October 2011
Related Categories: Protection of Civilians, Conflict
Read Full Text Here: http://www.adh-geneva.ch/docs/publications/Policy%20studies/Rules%20of%20Engagement.pdf
Relevance
Statistics show that, although the total number of conflicts in the world has decreased in recent decades, the share of conflicts involving armed non-state actors (ANSAs) has gone up. Civilians in conflicts that involve ANSAs tend to be exposed to greater risks, as many, although not all, of the atrocities against them are committed by these armed groups. ANSAs are often violating international norms more liberally than for instance government forces because they feel a need t... Read More
Protection of civilians in armed conflict – comparing organisational approaches
| Date added: | 12/04/2012 |
Authors: Stian Kjeksrud, Jacob Aasland Ravndal, Andreas Øien Stensland
Cedric de Coning, Walter Lotze and Erin A. Weir
Institution: Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI)
Publication Date: November 2011
Related Categories: Protection of Civilians, Conflict, Planning,
Read Full Text Here: http://www.ffi.no/no/Rapporter/11-01888.pdf
Relevance
The increasing focus on the Protection of Civilians (POC) in conflict environments in the last two decades has generated various discourses and strategies; however, the international community is not yet speaking with one voice on the subject. Even in the UN, the organisation with perhaps the most advanced thinking, definitions on what POC entails can vary: A broad concept based on international humanita... Read More
No One to Intervene - Gaps in Civilian Protection in Southern Sudan
| Date added: | 15/08/2011 |
Institution: Human Rights Watch
Publication Date: 2009
Keywords: Protection of Civilians, Sudan
Read Full Text Here: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/sudan0609web.pdf
Relevance:
This paper highlights the indivisibility of inter-communal violence from wider conflict dynamics. It shows that even where early warning systems identify brewing violence, inadequate response mechanisms can still fail to protect civilians. The paper highlights the importance of early intervention by political and community leaders to quell tensions when indicators notify of the prospects of violence. It also suggests a range of mechanisms that could be considered by the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and Uni... Read More
Military Planning to Protect Civilians - Proposed Guidance for United Nations Peacekeeping Operation
| Date added: | 16/02/2012 |
Author: Max Kelly with Alison Giffen
Institution: The Stimson Center
Publication Date: September 2011
Related Categories: Protection of Civilians, Peacekeeping
Read Full Text Here: http://www.stimson.org/images/uploads/research-pdfs/3_-_Military_Planning_To_Protect_Civilians_2011.pdf
Relevance
That the Protection of Civilians (POC) needs to be present at all levels of planning and implementation of United Nations peacekeeping (UN PK) missions is clear. This paper offers guidance on how this can be done by going through when and where in the complex planning processes POC policies can be introduced for best effect. Although mainly targeted towards UN personnel directly involved in planning and implementation of mis... Read More
Mass Atrocity Response Operations - A Military Handbook
| Date added: | 03/03/2011 |
Author: Sarah Sewall, Dwight Raymond, Sally Chin
Institution: CarrCenter for Human Rights Policy; Harvard Kennedy School; and the US Army Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute
Publication Date: 2010
Keywords: Protection of Civilians, Conflict
Read Full Text Here: www.hks.harvard.edu/cchrp/maro/pdf/MARO_Handbook_4.30.pdf
Relevance:
After the Rwandan genocide, the international community was stunned and confused as to why more was not done to prevent the mass killing of civilians that occurred. This handbook was developed as a direct result of those experiences and advocates an approach to Mass Atrocity Response Operations (MARO) that could potentially coordinate international military action to respond to these spe... Read More
Finding the ‘utility of force to protect’ – towards a theory on protection of civilians
| Date added: | 12/04/2012 |
Author: Alexander William Beadle
Institution: Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI)
Publication Date: November 2011
Related Categories: Protection of Civilians, Conflict, Stabilisation
Read Full Text Here: http://www.ffi.no/no/Rapporter/11-01889.pdf
Relevance
Using military force to maximise the Protection of Civilians (POC) in a conflict is far from a straightforward issue. The fog of war, unintended consequences, and dynamic responses by conflict actors to military interventions, to name a few factors, combine to make the outcome of most interventions unpredictable.
This report is a helpful summary of the complexities intrinsic to military protection interventions. More specifically, it offers an analytic methodology to devise military strategies ... Read More
Addressing the Doctrinal Deficit
| Date added: | 03/03/2011 |
Author: Alison Griffen
Institution: Stimson Center
Publication Date: 2010
Keywords: Protection of Civilians, Peace Processes, Conflict
Read Full Text Here: http://www.stimson.org/images/uploads/research-pdfs/1_-_Addressing_the_Doctrinal_Deficit_2010.pdf
Relevance:
The past decade has witnessed a growing number of military operations tasked with protecting civilians from systematic and widespread atrocities. This report advises on how to incorporate protection of civilians into military operations. It will be relevant to planners and practitioners of joint c... Read More