Sudan’s civilians urgently need protection: the options for international peacekeeping: In September 2024, the United Nations’ independent fact-finding mission to Sudan issued its first report. Citing grave human rights violations amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the report called for the immediate deployment of an independent and impartial force to protect civilians. Nearly …
Gaza update: deadlock in the UN security council means no relief for suffering Palestinian civilians: Day by day, as Israel continues its assault on Gaza, the death toll mounts. According to the Gaza health ministry more than 18,500 people have now been killed in the Israeli army’s air and ground assault – and the Israel …
Rwanda’s troops in Mozambique have done well to protect civilians – the factors at play: Rwanda’s involvement in peacekeeping operations for the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) has increased since 2004. The relatively small east African nation is Africa’s most active troop-contributing country and the fourth most active worldwide. It has nearly 6,000 …
Ukraine recap: Russia targets civilians as the world argues about how to end the war: Ever since Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops across the border into Ukraine, the role of the UN as global problem solver has come under scrutiny. Any attempts for meaningful action by the security council are immediately stymied by the fact …
Ukraine war: a desperate Russia defaults to attacking civilians: If you wanted an indication of how badly Russia’s war is going and how much pressure Vladimir Putin is under, then the missile attacks on Kyiv and Ukraine’s major cities over the last day or two are as good as any. These attacks have no military …
South Sudan should disarm civilians – the evidence shows this improves security: Armed United Nations mission guards secure Malakal airport in in Unity State, South-Sudan, amid conflict between government and rebel troops. GettyImages A long-running state of insecurity has recently intensified in Unity State – one of South Sudan’s 10 states – resulting in many …
Ukraine: what the rules of war tell us about the deliberate targeting of civilians: Warning: this article is accompanied by an image that some may find distressing. “International law is not just an empty promise.” These are the words of Jean-Marc Thouvenin, one of Ukraine’s legal counsel, before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on …
Ukraine: the UN’s ‘responsibility to protect’ doctrine is a hollow promise for civilians under fire: Images of gaunt, exhausted faces of people fleeing bombardment and death once again dominate global news. From Mariupol to Irpin, Russian artillery attacks on Ukrainian civilians have kept them trapped in hell. Every day, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky pleads …
Colombia’s ‘cash-for-kills’ victims could number 10,000 civilians: Of all the horrors to emerge from Colombia’s five-decades long conflict with the guerilla forces of the FARC-EP, the so-called false positives scandal is one of the most notorious. Between 2002 and 2010, members of the Colombian military used promises of employment to lure, kidnap and murder thousands …