This document discusses the protection of civilians in armed conflict. It notes that civilians now make up the vast majority of casualties in war. The UN Security Council has taken steps to protect civilians, such as authorizing force in Libya in 2011. There are several ways to protect civilians, including ensuring compliance with international law, engaging with non-state armed groups, peacekeeping operations, and humanitarian access. Nine current peacekeeping missions have civilian protection mandates. Both human rights law and international humanitarian law are relevant to protecting civilians. Specific vulnerable groups like women, children, and journalists require special protection efforts.

1. Protection of civilians

2. Today civilians account for the vast
majority of the casualties in armed conflict

3. The concept of ‘protection’ has been
relatively straightforward, rooted in IHL’s
protection of civilians from the
consequences of war

4. Examples
• Balkans;
• Rwanda;
• Libya;
• Syria;
• Afghanistan;
• Somalia;
• Soudan;
• DRC.

5. Civilian Targets
intentional civilian
targeting
unintended civilian
casualties

6. The ways to protect civilian populations in
armed conflict:
 Enhancing compliance of parties to the conflict with their
obligations under international law, in particular the
conduct of hostilities;
 Engagement with non-State armed groups (NSAGs);
 Protecting civilians through UN peacekeeping and other
relevant missions;
 Humanitarian access;
 Enhancing accountability for violations.

7. UN Security Council’s role in protection of
civilians
 The adoption of resolution 1973 in March 2011 regarding the
situation in Libya represented a new step in the
implementation of the protection of civilians by the Security
Council. It was the first time that the SC gave a blanket
authorization for the use of force in order to protect civilians.
Until then, such authorization for humanitarian reasons was
either limited in time (two months under resolution 929 for
the Turquoise operation in Rwanda in 1994), or in scope
(protection of humanitarian convoys under resolution 770
(1992) in Bosnia);
 UN Security Council holds a six-monthly public debate on the
issue of the protection of civilians.

8. The protection of civilians should be
viewed from various angles:
 Access to civilians - humanitarian access;
 In peacekeeping operations;
 Specific groups of civilians: women and children;
journalists.

9. Access to civilians - humanitarian access
It must be possible to allow unhindered distribution of
humanitarian aid
Protection of humanitarian personnel

10. UN peacekeeping operations
 protect civilians under imminent threat of physical
danger;
 prevent and respond to sexual violence;
 facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance;
 ensure security in and around camps for refugees and
security for the persons living there;
 create conditions conducive to their voluntary and safe
return.

11. 9 peacekeeping operations have been mandated
by the Security Council to protect civilians:
 MONUSCO in the Democratic
Republic of Congo;
 MINUSMA in Mali;
 UNOCI in Côte d’Ivoire;
 UNMIL in Liberia;
 UNAMID in Darfur;
 UNISFA in Sudan;
 UNMISS in South Sudan;
 MINUSTAH in Haiti;
 UNIFIL in Lebanon.

12. Human rights and Humanitarian Law in
Protecting Civilians in Conflict
 Protection of human rights is one of the basic
principles of the international system under the
United Nations: their protection has been sanctioned
in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10
December 1948. Principles stated in the Declaration
have been upheld by the international community
ever since and led to various sanctions against states
that fail to protect or violate them.

13. The following human rights provisions are
the most relevant in respect to protection
of civilian population:
 the principle of human dignity;
 the principle of non-discrimination;
 the right to life, liberty and security of person;
 the prohibition of slavery or servitude;
 the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.

14.  All parties to the conflict are responsible for ensuring that the
civilian population is respected and protected;
 The language of ‘civilian protection’ is now embedded in the
majority of the UN peacekeeping mandates;
 It is also a response to the scale and complexity of protection
challenges in the Balkans, Rwanda, Darfur and Libya - each of
which has clearly demonstrated that threats to civilians are
complex and dynamic and that no single international actor is
capable of mitigating them without significant support from
other institutions.

15. Specific groups of civilians: women and
children
Women and children are particularly vulnerable and have
unfortunately become the most targeted victims. In addition,
sexual violence is used in many armed conflicts as a weapon of
war against civilians, and women are particularly affected

16. Another specific group - journalists
There are intentional attacks against journalists, media
professionals and associated personnel in situations of
armed conflict