World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The protection of civilians in wartime is a principal objective of the laws of war.  In the recent Gaza violence, Israel has fired warning shots and used telephones to warn Palestinians that a house was going to be bombed.  The high rate of civilian casualties, however, suggest that, while admirable, these tactics are not always effective.   Some claim that the casualties are due to a deliberate strategy of Hamas to use civilian as “human” shields:  “Hamas, in other words, has exploited a rising global interest in civilian protection by encouraging innocent Palestinians to remain in the line of fire.”  Others claim that there is no place for the Palestinians to find shelter in the densely populated area of the Gaza.  The issue is a non-trivial one, but very difficult to ascertain given the limited access the outside media have to the Gaza.  The rhetoric of war needs to be questioned rigorously.

In 1995, Serbian forces overran the UN-protected enclave in the town of Srbenica in Bosnia.  Subsequently, almost 8,000 Bosnian Muslims, who had sought refuge in the enclave, were slaughtered.  Peacekeepers from the Netherlands were supposed to protect the civilians, but were unable to do so because of the very strict rules of engagement laid down by the UN Security Council.  A Dutch court ruled today that the Dutch state had failed in its responsibility to protect the civilians and was therefore liable for 300 of those deaths.  The ruling is very controversial and will undoubtedly have a negative effect on the willingness of states to contribute troops to future peacekeeping operations.  It was, on the other hand, a victory for those who believe that the UN must take its peacekeeping role more seriously.