Engaging the Media in Canvassing for Protection of Civilians During Conflict
To enhance, improve and strengthen the media reportage on Human Rights, Protection of Civilians and Civilian Harm Mitigation in various theatre of operations, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre with the support from Open Society Initiative for West Africa, recently held a media training on Protection of Civilians and Civilian Harm mitigation in Nigeria, Chiemelie Ezeobi reports
According to reports, 40 operations launched by the Armed Forces in the last five years has largely increased militarisation of the civil space, which further threatens civilian protection and dwarfs equal opportunities. In such conflict situation, tens of thousands of civilians suffer loss of life and grave injury, especially when it deals with insecurity. Presently in Nigeria, about 2.5 million people are displaced and 10 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
This is where Protection of Civilians (PoC) is important. Protection for the civilian population is a basic element of humanitarian law that states that all civilians and all those not taking part in the fighting must on no account be attacked and must be spared and protected. In fact, the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols contain specific rules to protect civilians.
Although the concept of protection of civilians has been progressively introduced to a wider audience, however, within the framework of conflict operations, the full implementation of this principle is hindered by a number of shortcomings, such as the limited understanding of roles and responsibilities, and the lack of clear methods and guidelines.
Thus, to underscore the urgency in achieving a policy framework for PoC, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) with the support from Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), recently held a one-day media training on Protection of Civilians (PoC) and Civilian Harm Mitigation in Nigeria.
Objectives
According to CISLAC Program Officer (Defence and Security), Bertha Ogbimi, the objectives of the training was to enhance, improve and strengthen the media reportage on Human Rights, Protection of Civilians and Civilian Harm Mitigation in various theatre of operations; enable media practitioners employ journalism principles based on impartiality, balance and responsibility while, at the same time, they (media) are conscious of need to gather adequate data on civilian threats in various theatres of operations.
Civilian Harm During Conflicts
Civilian harm during conflicts can come in form of death, injury, property loss (homes, businesses, livestock), civilian infrastructure damage (schools, hospitals, water treatment facilities), loss of livelihood and psychological trauma.
The causes are often when civilians are caught in between crossfire, when they live in proximity to military targets, use of force at checkpoints and during raids, use of indirect fire in populated areas, use of inappropriate weapon systems, targeting errors or mistaken identity on the basis of faulty intelligence and lack of preparation for civilian presence on the battlefield.
Essentially, even when principles of IHL are rigorously applied, harm to civilians may nevertheless occur as a direct consequence of the use of force.
“This ‘incidental harm’ while not illegal must be minimised, investigated, and appropriately addressed by security forces,” Hashim declared.
Protection of Civilians
According to Hashim, Protection of Civilians (PoC) is new in the whole of Africa continent and if Nigeria begins to legislate and begin to design in-house mechanism that works, it will help develop Civilian Harm Mitigation (CHM) infrastructure.
He said: “Because we are pushing for legislation, it becomes imperative to engage with the media, so that they can actually take this forward as a medium to begin to influence decision makers in terms of how they go forward from here.”
He held that since PoC is new, his organisation felt that the media ought to be brought into the conversation and allow them to understand the concept as well as get deeper into the ingredients that the law should actually begin to be advocated for.
“PoC is new, so if Nigeria goes on to put that policy framework in place, it becomes the first in the whole of Africa to do so. And I think that those within the regime and corridors of power will want their name to go down well in history.”
According to him, one of the reasons why POC is so important in various theatre is because of the horrendous consequences conflicts have on civilians, adding that the venom of civilian harm has further deepened trust deficit between the citizens (state and non-state) and security institutions – Amotekun now caught in the web of extra-judicial killings and torture.
Noting that the serum is Protection of Civilian and Civilian Harm Mitigation and it lies with the ability to establish respect (local cultural sensitivities), establish community liaison, apply gender dynamics, adaption strategies – rules of engagement and the use of force, Hashim, while clarifying the concept why it’s difficult to protect civilians, noted that the principle of distinction (civilian and combatant) was borne out of perceived failure to discern (2018 ICRC report Rules of restraint in war) culture of socialisation; state centric focus on regime and not citizens (protectors and perpetrators) and lack of accountability in designing and administering protection of civilian and civilian harm mitigation.
Given the principle of precaution and destruction, he noted that given the zero interest of security agents, there is need to tame reflationary power of discretion, while under legal compliance, he posited for cure relational defect given that law can cure relational deficit and impose sanction for non compliance.
Why a PoC-CHM Regime?
Expatiating on the PoC- Civilian Harm Mitigation (CHM) regime, Hashim noted that providing adequate protection is a daunting task that needs the closest possible coordination to be effective.
He said: “Stakeholders have a role to play on civilian casualties. It is vital that their knowledge and contributions are factored into our discussion of protection issues. There is often a lack of clarity and common understanding about PoC and how to achieve it. Civilians are the people most at risk during armed conflict, and military as well as other armed non state actors operations have faced significant challenges in protecting civilian populations effectively
“In some situations, security forces plan, prepare, and conduct operations specifically to protect civilians. In others, they support the protection of civilians with offensive, defensive, and stability activities