Civilians in Conflict
Either caught in the crossfire or directly targeted by unscrupulous actors, each year millions of civilians suffer from physical violence or are denied access to essential services. Protecting civilians in conflict is not just a moral or legal imperative; it is a necessary component of and pragmatic step to sustainable peace.
The Future of Peace Operations' Civilians in Conflict project envisions a world in which the international community, nation-states, and local communities effectively eliminate violence against civilians in conflict-affected societies. As a contribution to this ambitious vision, this project works to expand and improve international efforts to develop effective prevention and response mechanisms. Our approach encompasses three over-lapping goals:
Advance concepts, laws, and practices that contribute to the elimination of violence against civilians; focusing on the international community, nation-states, and local communities.
Identify when, if, and how the international community prevents and responds to crises; recommending appropriate and timely mechanisms of international intervention where civilians suffer from physical violence or are denied access to essential services.
Improve international prevention and response mechanisms; enhancing the effectiveness of consent-based and non-consensual international interventions (e.g. political mediation, economic incentives, and peacekeeping operations, etc.).
In 2012, the Civilians in Conflict project will focus on:
Community Voices in Protection Strategies: Improving Engagement with Conflict-Affected Communities:
According to new guidance, UN peacekeeping operations that are mandated to protect are now expected to create comprehensive strategies to protect civilians that include the perspective and engagement of conflict-affected communities. Stimson's Civilians in Conflict project has developed a research initiative to explore how civil society, conflict-affected communities and international stakeholders, including peacekeeping operations, can use focus groups and surveys to identify threats and monitor changes in the security situation. The initiative will be undertaken in conflict-affected areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan and will use a combination of civil society-facilitated focus groups (and possibly surveys), desk research, and interviews with stakeholders to identify strategies that could more effectively link the voices of vulnerable communities to UN peacekeeping operations' comprehensive protection of civilians strategies.
Guidance, Planning, and Training on the Protection of Civilians:
Since 1999, the UN Security Council has mandated UN peacekeepers, regional bodies, and coalition forces, with Chapter VII authority to use force to protect civilians under imminent threat of violence. Beyond the United Nations, regional organizations and multinational coalitions have also undertaken operations to prevent or respond to violence against civilians. Despite the proliferation of such operations, guidance on 'how to protect civilians' has been largely absent. The Civilians in Conflict project seeks to ensure that key states and multilateral institutions develop guidance and training on the protection of civilians. Building on previous Stimson research, the Civilians in Conflict project engages policy makers and practitioners in relevant institutions, offering recommendations and proposed guidance on how to better protect civilians from violence.
Recent publications include:
Considerations for a New Peacekeeping Operation in South Sudan
Protecting Civilians: Proposed Principles for Military Operations
Challenges of Strengthening the Protection of Civilians in Multidimensional Peace Operations
Integrated Peace Operations and Humanitarian Space:
In 2011, Stimson's Civilians in Conflict project, in partnership with the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute, undertook an independent study to explore the impact of the integration of UN political and peacekeeping missions on humanitarian space. Jointly commissioned by the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), the UN Department for Political Affairs (DPA), and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the study analyzed current integration arrangements and made recommendations toward the improved management of the positive and negative impacts of integration on humanitarian space. The final publication, UN Integration and Humanitarian Space, can be read here.
Civilian capacity to prevent and respond to atrocities:
The first-ever United States' Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) reaffirmed the importance of civilian power for U.S. foreign policy and conflict prevention. Diplomatic engagement and civilian deployments are critical for preventing conflict abroad, and for avoiding the impulse to solve problems militarily. With established track records in Sudan and Kenya, the U.S. government has publicly declared a desire to build the capacities of civilian prevention and response mechanisms like the Office of the Coordinator for Stabilization and Reconstruction (S/CRS) and the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI). The Civilians in Conflict project will monitor and influence the development of civilian capacity to prevent and respond to mass atrocities.
Recent publications include:
Timeline: Election Crisis in Côte d’Ivoire
Expeditionary Diplomacy Could Save Lives in Sudan
Will the World's High Risk Investment in Sudan Protect Civilians?
Previous Work:
Stimson has a long and recognized track record in efforts related to the protection of civilians and prevention of and response to mass atrocities. Previous work has focused on identifying: (a) the gaps in global preparedness to prevent and respond to mass atrocities, and (b) the challenges faced by military peacekeepers in implementing a mandate to protect civilians. Through monitoring, analysis, and engagement, the project provided policy recommendations and technical solutions to institutions such as the United Nations, African Union, and United States government. Examples of these efforts include contributions to the Albright and Cohen-led Genocide Prevention Task Force; an unprecedented UN commissioned independent study on the protection of civilians in UN peacekeeping; and proposed doctrinal principles and guidance for military operations mandated to protect. In addition, Stimson has contributed to research on mechanisms aimed at deterring, compelling and/or holding perpetrators to account, including research on UN Panels of Experts and sanctions and the International Criminal Court.
View the Civilians in Conflict trifold below for more information about the project.