Policy paper

UK Approach to Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict

Published 27 August 2020

Introduction

This paper provides an update to March 2020 on the UK approach to the Protection of Civilians (PoC) in armed conflict situations. It builds on the UK’s PoC strategy paper published in 2010, and has been drafted following consultation with non-governmental organisations, civil society, academics and others. The update was written before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic but the key principles referred to in this document on adherence to International Humanitarian Law and international human rights laws are not affected.

What is ‘protection’?

In the context of armed conflict, the concept of protection encompasses all activities aimed at obtaining full respect for the rights of the individual in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the relevant bodies of law^{[footnote 1]} . In essence, the goal of protection is to improve the safety of civilians by limiting their exposure to violence, abuse, coercion, exploitation and deprivation and the threat thereof. Primary responsibility for the protection and assistance of civilians lies with states, who are obliged to protect, respect and fulfil the human rights of all persons within their jurisdiction, in accordance with the standards of national and international law.

What is the concept of PoC in armed conflict?

In armed conflict, civilians face a mixture of direct and indirect threats to their lives, safety and wellbeing. Nevertheless, international humanitarian law (IHL, also known as the law of armed conflict) outlines the limits and ‘rules’ of war, aiming to balance military considerations against humanitarian requirements.

When States and other parties to conflict fail to comply with IHL, refugee and human rights law and other protective law, the direct consequences for civilians include death, injury, sexual and gender-based violence, violence against children, torture, displacement, unlawful detention, family separation, loss of livelihoods, interrupted access to basic services, and psychological harm.

Disregard for international law and the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality exacerbates conflict and undermines global stability. The UK’s National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review (2015) recognised that our long-term security and prosperity depend on the rules-based international order upholding our values.

How does the UK promote the PoC?

Improved PoC requires greater compliance with international laws by State and non-State actors, an improved response by the international community, and support to States to develop their capabilities to protect their own populations. The UK will always uphold international laws, use our influence to encourage others to do likewise, seek to condemn those that do not, and push for accountability. The UK works towards these commitments through^{[footnote 2]}:

• political engagement
• strengthening accountability
• peace support operations
• ensuring respect for IHL in UK military operations
• strengthening State and non-State capacity
• humanitarian action
• offering refuge to those in need of protection.

1. Political Engagement

Protecting civilians is at the core of the UK’s policies to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts around the world. This involves working bilaterally and multilaterally not only on resolution of the conflict itself, but also to ensure that the parties involved respect their obligations under international law, and to condemn violations of those obligations. However, we recognise that UK action alone can only have a limited impact. The international community, particularly the UN and its Security Council (UNSC), has a key role to play.

Using our permanent seat in the UNSC, the UK advocates for the protection of all civilians in crisis situations, including medical personnel and facilities and humanitarian personnel and assets, in line with IHL. The UK has played a key role in the development of the PoC agenda in the Security Council. With UK leadership and support, the UNSC has increased its commitment to this agenda in recent years including through making PoC the focus of peacekeeping missions when appropriate. The UK has supported or led on a number of thematic UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) on protection issues, such as those on PoC in armed conflict including resolutions on: Protection of Journalists in 2015 (UNSCR 2222), Protection of Medical Facilities in 2016 (UNSCR 2286), Hunger and Conflict (UNSCR 2417), Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC, UNSCR 2427), both in 2018, and on Protection of Persons with Disabilities in Conflict in 2019 (UNSCR 2475).

Box 1: Arms Control Treaties, Conventions and Regimes

The UK is a leading supporter of multilateral arms control treaties, conventions and regimes that protect civilians from the effects of banned weapons and illicit arms flows. The illegal and unregulated flow of weapons fuels violence and contributes to civilian deaths in conflict. As a Party to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention and the Cluster Munitions Convention the UK is committed to universalising the obligations to end the use, production, transfer or stockpiling of these weapons and thereby end the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions. The UK is also a leading proponent of the prohibitions on chemical and biological weapons. We stood firm against the Syrian regime’s appalling use of chemical weapons (CW) against its own people and made clear those responsible must be held accountable. The Arms Trade Treaty aims to establish high common standards for the international trade in conventional weapons and to prevent their illicit trade and diversion. Actively supporting universalisation and effective implementation of the treaty obligations, in national systems, will contribute to international peace and security.

Post conflict, the UK is a global leader in Mine Action through DFID’s Global Mine Action Programme (GMAP). Clearing contamination by mines and other explosive remnants of war protects civilians from the legacy risks of conflict.

The UK is also the pen-holder for UNSCRs linked to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.

Box 2: UK National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security (WPS) 2018-2022

The WPS agenda exists to promote and fulfil women’s human rights and achieve gender equality, as part of efforts to build more peaceful and stable societies for all. It is structured around four pillars of prevention, protection, participation and relief and recovery. The UK is committed to putting women and girls at the centre of all our efforts to prevent and resolve conflict, to promote peace and stability.

The UK National Action Plan (NAP) 2018-2022 is jointly owned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Department for International Development (DfID), supported by the Stabilisation Unit (SU). It sets out what HMG can deliver internationally through diplomacy, development and defence, along with our bilateral and multilateral partners. The NAP covers all fragile and conflict affected states (FCAS) but focuses on nine countries for reporting annually to Parliament (Afghanistan, DRC, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria) where there is potential for the UK to have a substantial impact.

Human Security

The MOD has recently published Joint Service Publication (JSP) 1325: “Human Security in Military Operations”. This policy is founded on the participation of women both in negotiations and peace talks and provides a population-centric lens to military operations. The JSP and supporting MOD Human Security training, focuses on how military personnel recognise and respond to human rights violations.

Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC)

The UK is part of the UN Working Group on CAAC which leads the international response on child protection in armed conflict, supporting the Special Representative of the Secretary General’s (SRSG) work by applying diplomatic pressure to listed governments and armed groups. In 2018, the UK endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD), a political commitment to reduce the impact of conflict on education, and the Vancouver Principles, a political commitment to operationalise child protection and to prevent the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups during the conduct of United Nations peace operations. In conjunction with the UK’s endorsement of the Paris Principles and Commitments and ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict in 2003, the UK supports and adheres to a set of instruments that constitute a vital compendium of safeguards to the rights of children in armed conflict.

The UK is the largest single financial contributor to the Office of the UN SRSG for CAAC, contributing £800,000 over the last five years to her Office and an additional £450,000 for the 2019/20 financial year in support of her mandate.

Box 3: Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC)

The CAAC agenda achieved international recognition in 1996 following the publication of a report by Graça Machel titled the “Impact of Armed Conflict on Children”. Her report highlighted the disproportionate impact of war on children and identified them as the primary victims of armed conflict. This report directly led to the creation of the mandate of the Special Representative of the SG (SRSG) for CAAC, the leading UN advocate for the protection and well-being of children affected by armed conflict.

The UNSC considers children in armed conflict to be an issue affecting peace and security. The international response to CAAC is framed through key UNSC resolutions that identify six grave violations committed against children in conflict (recruitment and use of children, killing and maiming of children, sexual violence against children, attacks on schools and hospitals, abduction of children and denial of humanitarian access). The resolutions also established the monitoring and reporting mechanism to record when these violations occur.

In order to protect children in conflict and to support their right to the future development the UK government will continue to:

• implement and advocate for the key instruments on the CAAC agenda to which the UK has expressed support
• improve accountability for violations of children’s rights in conflict
• advocate for child-specific expertise in peace support and military operations
• build reintegration into post-conflict recovery.

The UK also supports other particularly vulnerable people in conflict contexts.

Box 4: Persons with Disabilities and Armed Conflict

On 20 June 2019, the SC unanimously adopted resolution 2475, on the impact of armed conflict on persons with disabilities in which the UK, alongside Poland, held the pen.

The resolution urges “all parties to armed conflict to take measures, in accordance with applicable international law obligations to protect civilians, including those with disabilities, and to prevent violence and abuses against civilians in situations of armed conflict, including those involving killing and maiming, abduction and torture; as well as rape and other forms of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations.”

It also encourages Member States to ensure that persons with disabilities have access on an equal basis with others to basic services, emphasizes the importance of building capacity and knowledge of the rights and needs of persons with disabilities across United Nations peacekeeping and peacebuilding actors.

2. Strengthening Accountability

Monitoring and Reporting of Human Rights and IHL

Effective and independent monitoring and reporting of compliance with IHL, human rights and refugee law in situations of conflict is critical to raise awareness of protection issues and provides the necessary evidence base for timely political and legal action.

Within their mandate and agreed resources, we support the strengthening of human rights units in UN peacekeeping operations. We similarly promote and support the deployment of UN civilian human rights monitors to countries affected by conflict and encourage the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to participate actively in humanitarian coordination mechanisms on the PoC. We draw on the findings of human rights monitors (including regional and national mechanisms, and independent Commissions of Inquiry, where appropriate) to inform our political action on the PoC.

Incorporation of human rights standards within peace agreements, and the ability to monitor those, including through national human rights mechanisms is essential, not only for the immediate crisis, but also in the longer-term establishment of a peaceful resolution. We support the inclusion of international human rights and IHL standards, with supporting national mechanisms, in peace agreements as well as their subsequent implementation.

Box 5: The Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

The UK remains committed to the Responsibility to Protect, a global political concept that all UN members endorsed at the 2005 World Summit in New York, R2P has not, however, received consistent, active support in the Security Council or among the wider UN membership. The World Summit Outcome Document recognises that States are primarily responsible for protecting their populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. Where appropriate, the international community should assist States in exercising their responsibility through diplomatic, humanitarian and other peaceful means. If peaceful means are inadequate and national authorities are manifestly failing to protect their population, a collective action, can be authorised through the UNSC.

While it is not exclusively the case, it is clear that most atrocities occur in and around armed conflict. Therefore, the UK Government has dedicated significant resources to preventing conflict as a means of reducing the risk of atrocities occurring. Atrocity prevention is integrated into the UK’s overall approach to conflict prevention.

The UK uses tools available to us, which include:

• early warning mechanisms to identify countries at risk of instability, conflict and atrocities; Responsibility to Protect
• development and programmatic support to help States address the root causes of conflict, and the drivers of instability
• defence and policing tools, which may include deployments of UK armed forces, to assist with training and capacity building in the security sector.

The UK has pledged never to vote against a credible draft UNSC resolution that seeks to prevent or halt mass atrocities. We strongly encourage other UNSC members to do the same.

Transitional Justice

When protection fails and civilians become victims of war crimes or human rights violations, there need to be mechanisms and processes to combat impunity and to allow victims and survivors to seek justice and redress. The UK Government recognises that a comprehensive approach to transitional justice is needed and that any approach must be contextual and based on the needs and objectives of the people of the country concerned.

In post-conflict situations, domestic judicial systems may struggle to recover and initially may not be able to try the most serious crimes such as war crimes, and a referral to a body such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), as a court of last resort may be required. However, where possible, we believe that justice is best served if it is carried out to the required standards locally by domestic courts. Other mechanisms which the UK and the international community at large have supported include: truth seeking mechanisms, reparations for victims, and vetting processes to ensure that State institutions do not employ those found to have participated in human rights violations. These mechanisms must be locally and nationally owned, inclusive, gender-sensitive and respect States’ obligations under international law.

Transitional justice measures need to be sequenced properly as part of broader peacebuilding strategies and wider efforts to strengthen the rule of law, including building local security capacity, strengthening accountability and oversight structures and access to justice. We work to support the re-emergence or strengthening of justice systems which meet international standards and which are consistent with the Rome Statute of the ICC. We work to ensure that responses to tackle impunity and provide redress for victims are comprehensive and in line with emerging best practice.

International Justice Mechanisms

An essential part of protecting civilians in armed conflict is to ensure that there is no impunity for those who commit serious crimes during armed conflict, and that perpetrators are held to account. The international community needs to ensure that, where serious crimes occur, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, they are prosecuted. We believe that ensuring justice for such crimes has an important deterrent effect and is an integral part of post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation.

We continue to support, assist and cooperate with the ICC and ad hoc tribunals to deliver justice, through effective and efficient systems. We continue to encourage States that have not yet done so to ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC. Where necessary and appropriate, we urge the UNSC to consider referrals to the ICC as well as sanctions.

Box 6: Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI)

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, leads on PSVI cross government. During conflict and humanitarian crises, incidences of physical and sexual violence often significantly increase due to insecurity and the breakdown of social and protective systems. Sexual violence can be perpetrated against women and girls, as well as men and boys. The UK launched the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative in 2012. The aim of the initiative is to raise awareness and rally global action to:

• strengthen justice for survivors of sexual violence and hold the perpetrators to account
• tackle the stigma faced by survivors of sexual violence
• prevent and respond to sexual violence in conflict, including through using the military and police.

We aim to tackle the climate of impunity for perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence. We are also committed to improving survivors’ access to justice by promoting the implementation of relevant domestic legislation which criminalises conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence and provides protection, support and remedies. For example, better access to healthcare, psychosocial support, and livelihood programmes.

In 2014, we launched the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict at the PSVI Global Summit. Since then, we have worked with governments, the judiciary, police and civil society in countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Nepal and Uganda to provide training on the International Protocol, and to help these states gather evidence and bring prosecutions against perpetrators of sexual violence. A second edition of the Protocol was published in 2017.

3. Peace Support Operations

The UK contributes strongly to both the policy and the delivery of peacekeeping. As a member of the UNSC, the UK has a key role in setting the mandates for peacekeeping missions. Working alongside our partners in the Council, we seek to ensure that all missions are mandated to protect civilians where relevant to the situation. All new UN peacekeeping missions since 1999 have had a PoC element in their mandate, and for some it is the primary goal. The UK has also been a champion of the use of ‘phased mandates’ which prioritise the delivery of certain tasks, such as PoC, within a mission’s overall mandate. The UK, working both within such formal multilateral structures (UN mandated peacekeeping / stabilisation missions) and with coalitions of the willing (the coalition to counter Daesh in Iraq and Syria for example), seeks to ensure the basic security of civilian populations affected by conflict is an absolute priority, privileging their access to essential services while also striving to protect them from violent conflict, as set out in the UK Government’s Approach to Stabilisation (March 2019).

In September 2016, the UK hosted a UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial which brought together 74 countries and international organisations to discuss how to improve peacekeeping. The London Communiqué, signed by 63 countries, set a blueprint for peacekeeping reform based on improvement in three areas that we call the 3Ps – planning, pledges and performance. In 2018 the 3Ps helped shape the Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN Peacekeeping Operations, endorsed by over 150 Member States as part of the UN Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping initiative. By encouraging the UN and its Member States to focus on these areas, the UK aims to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of peacekeeping missions and their ability to protect civilians.

The UK has undertaken work with the EU/AU joint project on support to African peacekeeping training centres. The initiative is designed to provide peacekeeping training for military, civilian and police personnel.

We have promoted the UN Secretariat’s development of scenario-based training on PoC, and promoted use of this new resource by troop contributing countries.

We are also providing significant voluntary funding to the UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO) and the UN Department of Operational Support (DOS) this year to ensure UN peacekeepers perform at the highest level to deliver challenging mandates: the UK supports fully the UN’s zero tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping missions. Strengthening both prevention and accountability is a priority for the UK.

Box 7: Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA)

At UNGA 2017, the Prime Minister joined the UNSG’s Circle of Leadership on SEA and we negotiated and signed the UNSG’s Voluntary Compact on SEA. We use our position in the UNSC to ensure all mandates for peacekeeping missions contain language on protection of women and children from SEA offences, and on accountability measures.

Over the past three years (f/y 16/17-18/19), the UK has provided $3 million to support the UN Secretary-General’s efforts to tackle SEA and improve accountability. These funds have been used to support staff posts, to deliver more effective system-wide coordination, and pre-deployment training and communications projects, focussed on providing redress for victims. All Service Personnel are subject to the discipline standards set out in the Armed Forces Act (2006) when serving overseas. Additional support has been provided to support the work of the UNSG Victims Rights’ Advocate including £200,000 in 2019/20.

We are lobbying for change at the highest levels. The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and Development Secretary have all called on the UNSG to robustly tackle SEA.

Our vision is a world where the poorest and most vulnerable people are kept safe from harm, including from SEA and sexual harassment. Our goal is to drive up safeguarding standards across the peacekeeping and aid sectors.

Tackling SEA is a central plank of our peacekeeping reform work. The UK led in the UNSC on UNSCR 2272, which mandated SEA reporting and demanded contingents guilty of persistent and widespread sexual offences, are repatriated. We have pursued transparent reporting of all allegations, called for the UN to adopt higher standards of accountability including sharing information, speedy investigations and appropriate action.

4. Ensuring respect for IHL in UK military operations

Conduct of Operations

The UK’s Armed Forces always take the utmost care to protect civilians from the effects of armed conflict. They are provided with mandatory annual training on their obligations under IHL, which is reinforced with further training prior to deployment on operations. The training covers key principles of IHL such as military necessity, proportionality and humanity and the obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants, and between civilian infrastructure and military objectives.

Where military action is undertaken, it is conducted in full accordance with UK and international law and great care is taken to minimise the risk of harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure. The MOD has robust targeting policies, practices and processes which are entirely consistent with our obligations under IHL; we will always operate in accordance with its key principles. UK forces observe all practicable precautions in attack and conduct a rigorous assessment before and after striking a target. The MOD analyses all UK military activity and will investigate any credible reports that UK actions may have caused civilian harm.

The decision to use lethal force will depend upon the context of the operation. It would not be reasonable to deny our UK Armed Forces the option of applying the most appropriate effects against legitimate military targets, which may be in close proximity to civilian areas. The UK recognises that failure to deliver necessary military effect could have humanitarian consequences in itself, particularly against adversaries that do not respect IHL in conflict and are content to perpetuate serious violations or abuses of human rights.

The UK is clear that existing IHL provides the appropriate framework to afford the right level of protection to civilians when rigorously implemented. We make a point of calling on all parties to a conflict to observe similarly robust standards and are fully engaged in international discussions on such matters, including on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

The UK is heavily involved with Human Security at NATO often providing experts (at strategic level and in the field), engaging with external stakeholders and supporting NATO’s Secretary General’s Special Representative on Women, Peace and Security. The UK is a signatory to the NATO policy on Protection of Civilians (2016), the Way Forward Paper on Children and Armed Conflict (2015), the Countering Trafficking of Human Beings policy (2004) and the Cultural Property Protection Bi-Strategic Command Directive (2019).

At the London Leaders’ Meeting in December 2019 NATO Allies agreed an anti-Sexual Exploitation and Abuse policy. This policy was drafted by a UK seconded expert. The UK continues to play a leading role in the implementation of this policy and in the area of Women, Peace and Security as a whole”.

Cultural Property Protection and PoC

The UK Government recognises the importance of national culture and heritage to the life of civilians. The damage, destruction and looting of cultural heritage, often built over centuries and across many generations, impacts societies. We support UNESCO’s position emphasising that cultural property reflects the life of the community and its preservation helps to rebuild broken communities by linking their past with present and future. We take our obligations to Cultural Property Protection (CPP) extremely seriously and urge all parties to conflict to respect and protect cultural heritage, regardless of the nature of the conflict.

In March 2017 Parliament passed the Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Act 2017. The Act implements the Hague Convention (1954) and its two Protocols. The 1954 Hague Convention was negotiated in response to the damage, destruction and looting of cultural property in WW2 and provides a detailed international legal framework for the protection of cultural property during armed conflict (either international or non-international) and in times of occupation. State parties are required to respect cultural property both at home and abroad by desisting from exposing it to destruction and damage and from committing any hostile act against it. The Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Act 2017 further directed MOD to establish a military unit of CPP specialists in accordance with Article 7(2) of the Hague Convention and as a result the CPP Unit (CPPU) was established in 2018.

Box 8: Protection of Cultural Heritage

In 2017 the UNSC adopted resolution UNSCR 2347, which affirmed that attacks against and destruction of cultural heritage, or cultural or religious sites, could constitute a war crime and that perpetrators of such attacks must be brought to justice. This resolution is considered to be the first resolution ever adopted by the UN which treats protection of cultural heritage as an issue of key importance to international peace with implications for national security. The UK was a penholder on this resolution, and it was adopted under the UK’s presidency of the UNSC.

5. Strengthening State and Non-State Capacity

States have the primary responsibility to protect civilians. HMG encourages all States to respect IHL, to adopt relevant legislation and act in accordance to their obligations under it. Where they are willing but lack capacity to do so, the UK stands ready to help, for example through partnership programmes to build knowledge of IHL and more accountable defence and security forces and equitable justice services.

The UK Government recognises the need for specialist training on the rule of law and we provide such training to foreign governments and armed forces. We are focused on three themes: IHL, the military justice system (which is crucial to maintaining discipline and integrity), and international agreements.

Our expertise is highly valued across the world and improves the standards and capabilities of law enforcement and security agencies operating in the most challenging environments. However, it is important that we ensure that the skills and expertise we impart are not used to cause harm. Overseas Security and Justice Assessments^{[footnote 3]} are carried out before assistance is provided. Assessments are subject to periodic review where possible and assistance can be withdrawn.

Many of the International Defence Training courses delivered in the UK and overseas contain modules on IHL. The short course on ‘Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context’, which is given in many countries, has a number of IHL-related elements. The MOD’s UK-based training attended by international officers contains specific teaching on IHL, including Initial Officer Training, courses at the Defence Academy and the programme for senior officers at the Royal College of Defence Studies. The many permanent military training teams run by MOD in Africa and elsewhere all deliver courses containing IHL subject matter. MOD and the Armed Forces are also developing a programme, in accordance with the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) commitments, in the area of rule of law. This includes assisting foreign governments and their armed forces by providing training on rule of law including IHL, improving the effectiveness of military justice systems that are critical to maintaining disciplined forces, establishing international agreements to manage the jurisdiction of their forces overseas, and also participating in the rules based international order.

The UK works closely with other States and the Red Cross Movement to promote compliance with IHL. We encourage most States to adopt national legislation to enforce IHL and we are working to ensure that non-state armed groups understand and comply with their obligations in conflict situations. The UK’s cross-Government IHL Committee encourages the promotion and implementation of IHL across relevant parts of UK Government. The Committee meets twice a year and in 2019 its sub-committees collaborated with the British Red Cross to organize a successful Conference marking 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions and to publish the UK’s Voluntary Report on Domestic Implementation of IHL^{[footnote 4]} . The publication of this report reflects the UK Government’s determined commitment to the proper implementation of and compliance with IHL. Following the UK’s positive experience in producing this report we have now launched a project with the British Red Cross to encourage and support other countries to produce their own reports. As part of this project the Government has produced a toolkit ^{[footnote 5]} to provide practical guidance for countries to research and draft voluntary implementation reports.

With the support of the British Red Cross, the UK is exploring ways to enhance knowledge and strengthen the application of IHL, and to reinforce dialogue on IHL issues. This includes follow-up to the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, promotion of the establishment of weapons reviews^{[footnote 6]}, and encouraging discussion and effective implementation of IHL within the Commonwealth and at the 33rd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, in December 2019.

Box 9: Domestic Implementation of IHL

To encourage greater adherence to IHL, in March 2019, the UK government published its first ‘Voluntary Report on the Implementation of IHL at Domestic Level.’ The publication of this document reflects the UK Government’s determined commitment to the proper implementation of, and compliance with, IHL. Setting out the key steps the United Kingdom has taken at a domestic level to implement IHL. We aim to encourage other States to publish details of their activities to implement IHL at the domestic level, to identify best practices and ultimately to improve implementation and compliance with IHL.

Since the launch of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative in 2012, the UK has trained over 17,000 military and police on issues relating to sexual and gender-based violence in conflict. The UK has also deployed on over 85 occasions members of its Team of Experts and supported over 70 projects with human rights defenders and NGOs to provide capacity building on advocacy, protection, survivor support, evidence gathering, judicial reform, prosecution and reparations work. In March 2017, the UK launched the second edition of the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict to increase the capacity of States to gather evidence, prosecute offenders, and encourage grassroots organisations to press for specific changes to domestic legislation. The UK Government also stands ready to support initiatives to ensure that non-State armed actors understand and comply with their obligations in conflict situations. To this end, we have commissioned research and facilitated dialogue between States on the scope for strengthened, principled engagement with non-State armed groups for humanitarian purposes.

6. Humanitarian Action

Humanitarian action upholds the international laws that protect people and works to meet humanitarian needs. This section summarises how we respond to those needs to reduce the impact of conflict, while recognising that civilians at risk develop their own strategies to reduce exposure to protection risks, and must be supported in this endeavour.

Humanitarian Principles

In the course of humanitarian action, humanitarian actors work according to the Humanitarian Principles. Humanitarian action is often referred to as ‘principled action’. The UK humanitarian reform policy supports our partners to work according to the Principles.

Provision of assistance and protection in line with these Principles provides certainties for the affected populations, humanitarian actors, those with the legal obligations (duty bearers) for the care and protection of the affected and, in conflict situations, parties to conflict.

By definition, humanitarian action that is not provided in line with the Principles is not humanitarian – and may have security and safety implications as working to the Principles helps to build trust with parties to conflict and affected populations by illustrating the non -political and non-discriminatory nature of the aid provided.

Box 10: Humanitarian Principles

The Principles were named in 2012 by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the “OCHA on Message: Humanitarian Principles” as:

Humanity: Human suffering must be addressed wherever it is found. The purpose of Humanitarian action is to protect life and health and ensure respect for human beings.

Neutrality: Humanitarian actors must not take sides in hostilities or engage in controversies of a political, racial, religious or ideological nature

Impartiality: Humanitarian action must be carried out on the basis of need alone, giving priority to the most urgent cases of distress and making no distinctions on the basis of nationality, race, gender, religious belief, class or political opinions.

Independence: Humanitarian action must be autonomous from the political, economic, military or other objectives that any actor may hold with regard to areas where humanitarian action is being implemented.

Humanitarian Access

In many conflict-affected countries, humanitarian access is increasingly unsafe, delayed and otherwise restricted, leaving millions of vulnerable people deprived of life-saving protection and assistance. The UNSC has, on many occasions, condemned such restrictions and called upon States and other relevant actors to grant immediate, full, and unimpeded humanitarian access to protect civilians and meet their basic needs. In 2016, with UK co-sponsorship, the UNSC adopted UNSCR 2286 strongly condemning attacks and threats against the wounded and sick, medical and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties, their means of transport and equipment, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities. The same resolution demanded that all parties to armed conflict comply with IHL and “facilitate safe and unimpeded passage for medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties, their equipment, transport and supplies, including surgical items, to all people in need, consistent with international law”. This resolution was critical in highlighting the issue of humanitarian access and aid worker security – both priorities for the UK.

We support our partners to work according to the Humanitarian Principles so that they can safely access those in need. Maintaining this humanitarian space is particularly important in situations of armed conflict.

Wherever appropriate, the UK lobbies strongly for unrestricted humanitarian access, and holds countries to their commitments in this regard.

Counter-Terrorism Legislation and Humanitarian Action

The UK delivers humanitarian assistance in some of the most complex and challenging of environments – including where terrorists are known to operate. We continuously seek to balance the objectives of delivering vital humanitarian assistance with our obligations under counter terrorism legislation.

Existing UK counter-terrorism legislation – including the proscription of terrorist groups – does not prevent humanitarian aid organisations from operating in high-risk areas. But our funding agreements do commit our partners to understand and comply with this legislation, and DFID’s rigorous risk assessments and due diligence checks on our partners do help to protect against the risks of aid diversion and thus ensure the continuity of humanitarian aid delivery.

DFID is an active member of the UK Tri-Sector Working Group, chaired by the Home Office, which includes representatives from government, NGOs and financial institutions. Through dialogue and the development of guidance and best practice, the group seeks to ensure that the objectives of humanitarian aid delivery are met while also ensuring that UK funds or economic resources in high-risk jurisdictions meet with the UK’s obligations under counter-terrorism legislation and domestic and international sanctions.

Hunger and Conflict

Over the last decade, in the international arena, there was also development of the work regarding exploring links between hunger and armed conflict. Starvation as a method of warfare is prohibited in Additional Protocol (AP) I and AP II to the Geneva Conventions and is recognised as a war crime in armed conflict by the Rome Statute for the ICC. The prohibition is recognised as a rule of Customary International Law.

The UK is a member of the Group of Friends (GoF) of PoC and the aim of its work stream on hunger is to keep issues relating to conflict and hunger, including man-made famines, on the agenda of the UN as a whole and to promote the implementation of UNSCR 2417 (2018).

Box 11: Hunger and Conflict

A UNSCR on conflict and hunger (UNSCR 2417) was passed on 24 May 2018 strongly condemning “the starving of civilians as a method of warfare in a number of conflict situations and prohibited by international humanitarian law” as well as “the unlawful denial of humanitarian access and depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supply and access for responses to conflict-induced food insecurity in situations of armed conflict, which may constitute a violation of international humanitarian law”. The UNSC drew attention to the link between armed conflict and conflict induced food insecurity and the threat of famine. It called on all parties to armed conflict to comply with their obligations under IHL regarding the protection of civilians and on taking constant care to spare civilian objects, stressing that armed conflicts, violations of IHL and IHRL and food insecurity can be drivers of forced displacement.

UNSCR 2417 requests the UNSG to draw the UNSC’s attention to situations where conflict is causing a risk of famine. Member States including the UK are urged to focus on country contexts where conflict is impacting on hunger.

Humanitarian Protection

The UK provides significant financial support to humanitarian agencies with an international protection mandate. We encourage these agencies to implement their protection mandates to the fullest extent.

The UK Humanitarian Reform Policy commits to encourage UK-funded organisations to place protection at the centre of their work and to ensure adherence to the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014^{[footnote 7]} and minimum standards for the protection of children, women, people with disabilities and older people in emergencies. The UK has committed to ensuring that our partners use tools to support mainstreaming of protection and inclusion throughout all sectors of humanitarian response, such as the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee Gender with Age Marker and the IASC Guidelines on Integrating GBV in Humanitarian Action^{[footnote 8]}.

Box 12: Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

During conflict and humanitarian emergencies, sexual and gender-based violence can increase in both frequency and severity, with women and girls disproportionately affected. Increased violence against women and girls results from a complex interaction of factors including: existing gender inequalities; breakdown of rule of law and normal protective systems; changing power dynamics and new vulnerabilities, e.g. arising from loss of homes and/or incomes. The UK is committed to considering the specific needs of women and girls, including the increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence, in conflict and other humanitarian contexts.

Our continued focus on protection will not prevent us from recognising and supporting women and girls as valued, active partners and not only as survivors and beneficiaries. We will ensure greater emphasis on women and girls’ participation and empowerment.

We are committed to taking the life-saving measure of preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence within humanitarian crises by implementing the core objectives of the Roadmap 2016-2020’ of the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies. This includes building a more comprehensive evidence base, scaling up relevant programming and ensuring that personnel with the right technical expertise can be deployed quickly to areas in need. These commitments were re-stated in the Agenda for Humanity and Grand Bargain at the World Humanitarian Summit and in DFID’s 2018 Strategic Vision for Gender Equality and the UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace & Security: 2018-2020.

The UK’s approach to humanitarian protection is found in the Humanitarian Reform Policy 2017. Example areas that have subsequently been developed include:

• supporting the development of guidance/research on working with non-State armed groups (NSAGs). The number and complexity of NSAGs has increased exponentially since the last UK PoC strategy. Finding ways to encourage NSAGs to recognise and abide by IHL has become increasingly important

• supporting the establishment of a UN High-Level Panel on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Even as their numbers continue to grow, there has been an absence of concrete, effective and lasting solutions for IDPs, without the same rights and protections afforded under international law to refugees. The response to IDPs is a political and development challenge as much as a humanitarian one. A humanitarian response alone is seldom a long-term solution. The protracted nature of displacement is one of the reasons the UK is focussing on the role of development instruments and policies to strengthen the response

• encouraging UN Humanitarian Country Teams to produce quality protection strategies for conflict contexts and to improve their implementation. These strategies are key to ensuring a cohesive and longer -term approach to the PoC in humanitarian contexts.

• the UK has been at the forefront of global efforts to identify and address the needs of women and girls in humanitarian contexts. The UK leads donor coordination on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) through its role as co-Chair of the Call to Action (CtA) for the Protection from GBV in Emergencies States and Donors Working Group and membership of the CtA Global Steering Committee.

Violence Against Women and Girls

Violence affects women and girls everywhere and one in three women worldwide will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. This is exacerbated in armed conflict with recent evidence showing that rates of violence are extremely high among conflict-affected women and girls. For instance, in South Sudan, over 70% of women surveyed were survivors of GBV.

In 2015, the world committed to eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls as part of the Global Goals and the UK is committed to meeting this target. DFID’s Humanitarian Reform Policy, launched in September 2017, puts gender equality and the protection of women and girls at the centre of its humanitarian work, ensuring adherence to the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014, and minimum standards for the protection of women and girls. In alignment with DFID’s Humanitarian Reform Policy, the UK continues to support delivery of a coordinated approach to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and support the UN zero tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and abuse.

DFID’s 2018 Strategic Vision on Gender Equality includes a call to action to protect and empower girls and women in conflict, protracted crises and humanitarian emergencies, to rebuild their lives and societies. DFID works with its partners to achieve this by listening to the needs of women and girls, increasing the meaningful and representative participation and leadership of women. Addressing GBV, which disproportionately affects women and girls, is one of the strategic objectives of the UK’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security and includes a commitment to increase the scale and number of interventions to prevent and respond to the issue in conflict-affected contexts.

7. Offering Refuge to those in Need of Protection

As a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, the UK has a long tradition of providing protection to those who need it and we fully consider all claims to asylum made in the UK in accordance with our international obligations under the Convention. Those who are determined as having a well-founded fear of persecution for one of the five Convention reasons will normally be granted refugee status for a five year period. If there is a well-founded fear of persecution or risk of serious harm for a non-Convention reason, the UK will consider granting Humanitarian Protection under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Someone seeking international protection as a refugee must first be outside the country of their nationality, as such protection cannot be made available as long as a person is within the territorial jurisdiction of their home country. The UK approach is that an individual should apply for protection from the authorities in the first available safe country they reach, failing which the local office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) may be able to assist.

In terms of accepting more refugees, the UK has long recognised the need for resettlement schemes as part of a comprehensive approach to managing refugee crises. The UK operates several such resettlement schemes, working closely with UNHCR to provide a safe and legal route to the UK for the most vulnerable refugees including Gateway, Mandate, the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme and the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement scheme.

The UK is one of the biggest donors to refugee responses and we remain at the forefront of new crises, providing immediate life-saving aid and protection, alongside longer-term support (access to jobs, education, etc.) that bolsters refugee self-reliance. Ensuring that refugees get the help they need in the first safe country they reach provides an alternative to dangerous secondary journeys and ultimately makes it easier for forcibly displaced people to return and rebuild when the time is right.

1. The definition was agreed in 1999 by a wide group of humanitarian and human-rights agencies regularly convened by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva. It was subsequently adopted by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the forum for coordination, policy development and decision-making involving the key UN and non-UN humanitarian partners. Under the leadership of the Emergency Relief Coordinator, the IASC develops humanitarian policies, agrees on a clear division of responsibility for the various aspects of humanitarian assistance, identifies and addresses gaps in response and advocates for effective application of humanitarian principles. ↩

2. Additionally, 50% of DFID’s funding is targeted to fragile and conflict affected States, the contexts where civilians are either at greatest risk of, or already in, greatest need of protection. ↩

3. Overseas Security and Justice Assistance Guidance is available online. ↩

4. The report was published in March 2019. ↩

5. International humanitarian law implementation report: toolkit ↩

6. Weapons reviews are envisaged under Article 36 of Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions as a means by which States should determine the legality of new weapons, means and methods of warfare. ↩

7. The Act requires all UK humanitarian assistance plans to consider gender-related differences in the needs of those affected by the disaster or emergency. ↩

8. The IASC Gender Marker is a tool that codes, on a 0‐2 scale, whether or not a humanitarian project is designed well enough to ensure that women/girls and men/boys will benefit equally from it or that it will advance gender equality in another way. ↩