Worldwide, civilians often face harm in modern conflicts. As a multinational, crisis management organization, NATO’s alliance supports its member countries and efforts to foster peace and security—in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean—as well as to mitigate harm to civilians.
In 2016, the NATO Policy on the Protection of Civilians (PoC) made protection an explicit goal of future operations, kicking off development of a military concept on PoC, an action plan, and guidance. Whether in active security operations, train and assist missions, or support to disaster relief, NATO policy is to mitigate harm from its own actions and protect civilians from the harm of others.
To help NATO succeed, Stimson’s innovative project, in partnership with PAX and supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will cultivate and offer external expertise to NATO and help assess the levels of current doctrine and guidance within NATO nations and partners on protection of civilians. Emphasis will be on solutions-focused research and on building bridges across governments, academia, international organizations and NGOs.
Human security is now at the core of NATO's doctrine and the conflict in Ukraine is putting it to a different test
February 27, 2024
Without consensus, compromise, and collective action, Women, Peace, and Security and Human Security risk being sidelined in NATO’s mission set
February 24, 2023
The Department of Defense's new focus on civilian harm mitigation and response provides new opportunities for US leadership in NATO's new approach to human security
February 2, 2023
Discussing Germany’s comprehensive assessment of PoC readiness at the national level
January 11, 2023
NATO paves the way for the effective future integration of the human security approach into the organization’s work and doctrine.
November 2, 2022
NATO is taking strides to broaden the definition of “security” and emphasizing the importance of human security and gender equality.
September 27, 2022
The Ukraine war shows why the alliance’s upcoming summit cannot give short shrift to the topic of human security.
June 16, 2022
Integrating resilience and protection of civilians will enhance NATO’s ability to anticipate, prepare, and, when needed, respond to future security threats
June 13, 2022
Copyright The Henry L. Stimson Center