Civilian Casualties (CIVCAS)

Members of the security forces walking at the site of a NATO airstrike which destroyed two fuel tankers hijacked by the Taliban in northern Kunduz on September 4, 2009.

Kunduz Airstrike Before European Court of Human Rights: Future of Jurisdiction and Duty to Investigate

The future of European Human Rights Court's jurisdiction and the future of States' duty to investigate civilian casualties in wartime.

Feb. 26, 2021 Chantal Meloni

: An F-16CJ from the 78th Fighter Squadron, at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina flies over the Eglin Land Range as the pilot releases a GBU-31 2,000 pound Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) during a test mission February 25, 2003.

Avoiding Collateral Damage on the Battlefield

What are the rules on avoiding harm to civilians in armed conflict and how are they applied in an operational context? A detailed explainer on the processes, technologies, and…

Feb. 11, 2021 Lt. Col. John Cherry, Sqn. Ldr. Kieran Tinkler and 1 more

Heavily damaged building in Raqa collapse into rubble piles in the street in a photograph taken on October 21, 2017, after a Kurdish-led force expelled the Islamic State group from the northern Syrian city.

Why We Haven’t Made Progress on Civilian Protection

Three reasons for the lack of progress on reducing civilian casualties: We don’t learn, we don’t lead, and we don’t help our partners—or hold them to a high enough standard.

Feb. 3, 2021 Larry Lewis

Prosthetic legs are stacked against a wall with a mirror in the therapy room at the ICRC Orthopedic Center on October 1 2019 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Some of the prosthetics wear sandals or sneakers and others are barefoot.

The Progress Not Made on Protecting Civilians

I was recently asked to reflect on the progress the United States has made on civilian protection after two decades of war and counterterrorism operations since 9/11. I got down…

Feb. 2, 2021 Sarah Yager

Local elderly residents take shelter in the basement of an undisclosed church on October 12, 2020 in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh. Boxes and blankets are placed in piles on the floor and there are a few chairs and benches on which people sit. A person walks past the camera using a walking cane.

Power Politics Obstructs Protection of Civilians in — and After — the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Five measures that Azerbaijan and Armenia, along with Russia, Turkey, and the international community must take now to improve conditions.

Feb. 2, 2021 Beatrice Godefroy and Julien Théron

Women wait with children in a ward at a malnourishment treatment centre in Yemen's northern Hajjah province on November 22, 2020. The beds the children lie in are covered in netting, and the walkways between beds are very small since the beds are crowded together.

Biden Must Stick to His Pledge to End US Support for the Yemen War

The war in Yemen is a global mark of shame, and the resulting humanitarian disaster threatens the lives of 24 million people.

Dec. 14, 2020 Priyanka Motaparthy and Osamah Alfakih

Graves of people including children who were killed in the war including airstrikes carried out by warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition, are seen at a cemetery on June 17, 2020 in Sana'a, Yemen.

Defense Policy Negotiations Near Completion in Congress, With Human Rights Provisions in Play

Issues at stake include militarization of law enforcement, civilian casualties, military base renaming, arms transfers, and more.

Nov. 25, 2020 Cole Blum

Patmanathan Kokilavani holds photos of her two children at a protest site for loved ones of the disappeared on May 13, 2019 in Mullaitivu, Sri Lanka. Behind her are numerous photos strung on a wall of others who are disappeared.

Human Shields and Proportionality: How Legal Experts Defended War Crimes in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan Civil War constitutes an unprecedented case in terms of the number of people who were framed as human shields and the mobilization of prominent human rights…

Nov. 12, 2020 Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini

US sailors stand next to F/A-18 Super Hornets parked on the bow of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) anchored off Manila bay on June 26, 2018.

Anticipating the Human Costs of Great Power Conflict

Conspicuously absent from policy and planning documents about great power conflict is a clear-eyed assessment of the likely human costs of such a conflict or considerations for…

Nov. 9, 2020 Brittany Card, Daniel R. Mahanty and 3 more

A Somali woman walks in an internally displaced people (IDP) camp as hundreds of people recently fled from southern Somalia US's airstrikes against al Shebab, in Baidoa, autonomous South West State of Somalia, on December 18, 2018.

Plan to Pull U.S. Troops from Somalia is Cold Comfort Amid Civilian Toll of Air War

AFRICOM insists its aim is to ‘degrade’ al-Shabaab. But the US military campaign is taking a heavy toll on civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Oct. 31, 2020 Abdullahi Hassan

The damaged interior of the hospital in which the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) medical charity operated is seen on October 13, 2015 following an air strike in the northern city of Kunduz.

Five Years On: Military Accountability and the Attack on the MSF Trauma Center in Kunduz

On the fifth anniversary of the tragic attack by the U.S. military on the Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF) trauma center in Kunduz, Afghanistan, a former U.S. military legal adviser…

Oct. 3, 2020 Brian L. Cox

Online Symposium on Civilian Casualties: The Law of Prevention and Response

An important symposium series, “Civilian Casualties: The Law of Prevention and Response,” is kicking off on Wednesday (September 30) at noon EDT.

Sep. 29, 2020 Todd Buchwald