PolicyBrief-InterAction.pdfVIP

Policy Brief February 2016 Civilians Under Fire Restore Respect for International Humanitarian Law Executive Summary The scale and severity of human suffering in current armed conflicts represent a distressing race to the bottom in disregard for the basic rules regulating armed conflict. Civilian deaths and injuries resulting from explosive weapons have increased by 52% over the last four years.1 The world is currently witnessing the greatest population displacement since World War II.2 This is not merely the tragic, inevitable consequence of conflict, and it cannot be excused by the fog of war. Much of this loss of life and human suffering is avoidable. This is precisely what international humanitarian law, also known as the law of armed conflict, is for – to limit the effects of armed conflict. There is ample evidence that basic rules are being violated on a daily basis by both non-state armed groups and state parties to conflict, even by those with the most advanced equipment and training. Parties to conflict deliberately target civilians as well as their homes, hospitals, schools, and other infrastructure; use indiscriminate force in populated areas; and fail to take precautions in the conduct of hostilities. This is most acutely evident in Syria and Yemen where much of the harm visited upon civilians is foreseeable and preventable. The lack of investigation and public accounting by the parties to conflict of the impact of their military operations on civilians speaks to the permissiveness of the current climate. Civilians cannot afford such indifference to the basic rules intended to protect them during armed conflict. Concerted and deliberate effort is needed to restore respect for civilians in situations of armed conflict. A lack of restraint in the conduct of hostilities fuels protracted conflict and often complicates the process of negotiat