In an historic move on Friday, President Barack Obama issued an executive order which puts civilian protection at the heart of US foreign and military policy for the first time. Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) is grateful to the president for this demonstration of American leadership when it comes to protecting civilians at risk from conflict.
International humanitarian law requires that warring parties to conflict protect civilian lives and property, but this executive order goes above and beyond what is currently required. After more than a decade of work on this, we’ve compiled a collection of CIVIC statements, reports, and explainers on this page to help you make sense of what this may mean for US foreign policy moving forward.
- Executive Order — United States Policy on Pre- and Post-Strike Measures to Address Civilian Casualties in U.S. Operations Involving the Use of Force
- Executive Order Explainer
- CIVIC on Executive Order: ‘Swift Implementation Needed’
- CIVIC on Drone Strike Casualties: ‘The numbers simply don’t add up’
- As Pentagon Reshapes Fighting Force, Civilian Casualties Need to be Considered
- Changing of the Guard: Civilian Protection for an Evolving Military
- Amends and Post Harm Assistance
- Tracking Civilian Harm
There is still much to do, however; this order is just a starting point. That’s why CIVIC stands ready to lend our expertise to assist the government as they swiftly implement this order.
