CIVIC Senior Advisor for Programs, Nigeria Chitra Nagarajan discusses civilian protection, the Nigerian military, and CIVIC’s work in the region in an article published by the Humanitarian Practice Network: The Nigerian government has taken these steps in part in response to international pressure to improve the military’s record on human rights, including the decision of the…
Despite the challenges in current conflicts, armed actors can be successful in respecting international humanitarian law.
CIVIC’s Sahr Muhammedally delivered a statement from the International Network on Explosive Weapons to the UN General Assembly’s First Committee on International Security and Disarmament on Monday. Thank you for the opportunity to address the First Committee today on behalf of the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW). I will lay out our concerns over the…
By Natasha Hall Since their start at the end of September 2015, Russian air strikes have displaced over a quarter million Syrians. According to Amnesty International, civilian harm attributable to Russia is on the rise. “We ran for our lives. We didn’t get to take anything with us. No blankets, nothing,” said Fatima, who fled Kafr…
By Natasha Hall In last week’s Republican presidential debate, we heard all about saturation bombing and destroying the Islamic State group. Republican contender Sen. Ted Cruz recently proffered his opinion that we should “carpet bomb ISIS into oblivion.” In the past two weeks, a 34-nation Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism was announced, President Barack…
On December 3-4 2015, the European University Institute and the Global Policy Initiative of Columbia University convened a workshop of around thirty scholars, practitioners, and high-level UN officials to discuss “Protection, Peacekeeping, and the Individualization of War.” CIVIC was invited to share its experiences and perspectives on the “Micro-level Dilemmas of Protection in Peacekeeping.”
Article by Nicolette Boehland, Harvard Law Fellow at CIVIC. “What I think is that there is no line at all … Civilians can turn into fighters at any time. Anybody can change from a fighter to a civilian, all in one day, all in one moment.” I remember pausing when I heard this assertion. It…
Yemenis must have sighed with relief when, on April 21, the Saudi government announced they would end their air campaign against the Houthi rebels. In a bit more than a month, the strikes have reportedly killed 1,000 civilians and injured many thousands more. Facing mounting criticism of the high civilian toll, Saudis abruptly renamed the…
Article by Nicolette Boehland, Harvard Law Fellow at CIVIC. Last September, I went to Gaza to talk to civilians about their experiences during conflict. When I arrived at my hotel, the manager told me with pride that I was lucky to be staying in one of the most secure locations in the Gaza Strip. He…