Wars are no longer waged on the battleground, instead, they are waged in the middle of the civilian population. Civilians in the period of armed conflict are too often the victims of inhuman acts and consequently suffer serious harm. To protect civilians in times of war International Humanitarian Law which is known as the law of war, in a nutshell, provides specific directives on what can and cannot be done during armed conflict. State practice and opinio juris establish the principles of Customary International Law. Some examples of brutality against civilians during armed conflict are mass extermination, indiscriminate attacks, hostage situations, and deportations. Against this backdrop, the protection of civilians is, therefore, the cornerstone of International Humanitarian Law.

The persons who are not members of armed forces and do not directly take part in hostilities shall be protected from murder, torture, brutality and should be subject to be treated humanely ensured by Geneva Convention IV of 1949 and the Additional Protocol 1 of 1979. This convention also ensures the right to basic necessities of food, clothing, and medical care. International Humanitarian Law provides special protection for pregnant women and mothers who have dependent infants by ensuring their right to food, clothing, and medical assistance in times of armed conflict. Women’s protection strategy in times of war shall be incorporated in national legislative, judicial, and administrative action of state parties which is adopted by the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent 31^st conference in 2011. Wounded, Sick, and Pregnant women as well as mothers with infants shall have the right to be released from the occupying armed forces guaranteed by Article 132 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, 1949.  All women are protected from rape, forced prostitution, any indecent assault, or being executed by the death penalty for the offense of armed conflict under Article 76 of Additional Protocol 1 Geneva Convention 1949.

There are two procedural methods to protect children established by International Humanitarian Law. The first method is that children shall be protected the same way as persons not taking part in hostilities are protected. And secondly, special protection is ensured for children under Article 77 of Additional Protocol 1, 1979. Other protections provided to children under Article 77 of Additional Protocol 1 include protection against the effect of hostilities right to care and aid. Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict express that children shall be protected from any kind of inhuman act during armed conflict.

Despite having relevant legal instruments for the protection of civilians, they are the main victims of armed conflict. They suffer terrifying humanitarian catastrophes which we have witnessed during mass bombing in Ukraine, or during ferocious humanitarian catastrophes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and Yemen, or even during the battles between states and Islamist militants in Africa. Civilians are deprived even of their basic necessities in times of war. Watson Institute of International & Public Affairs at Brown University found that as of September 2021, more than 70,000 Afghan and Pakistani civilians are estimated to have died as a direct result of war. On 28 June 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Office expressed that 306,887 civilians had been killed in Syria during the conflict between March 2011 and March 2021. ICC did not prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Syria as it is not a ratified state of ICC jurisdiction. If the United Nations Security Council refers the case before the court, ICC may obtain jurisdiction in this situation. The initiative was taken in 2014 to refer the issue of conflict relating crimes against civilians in Syria to the ICC. Nearly 60 states supported adopting a draft resolution on that conflict but the initiative failed as negative votes of China and Russia. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded that from 24 February 2022 to 26 February 2023, 21,580 civilian casualties in Ukraine by the attack of the Russian Federation: a total of 8101 Killed among them 2,127 women and 31 children. A total of 13,479 were injured among them 2,421 women and 271 children. International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against the president of Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin for war crimes and unlawful deportation of people (children) from Ukraine to Russia.

‘Save The Children’, an international non-governmental organization, revealed its statistics in 2020, which reflected that in the last ten years, a total of 93,236 children have been killed or maimed in conflicts. Amongst them, many were victims of airstrikes, shelling, landmines, and other explosive materials. A number of children are victims of Refugees. UNICEF and United Nations Children’s Fund explored four million Syrian children who have only known war since birth.

Attacks on civilians including women and children consider genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity which are adjudicated by International Criminal Court (ICC). The war crime of intentionally directing attacks against civilians violates Article 8(2)(b)(i) of the Rome Statute. The attacks on civilians are recognized as crimes against humanity as per Article 7 and individual responsibility for genocide and crimes against humanity is covered under Article 25 of the statute. Therefore, the statute of ICC prosecutes war criminals, provisions of Geneva Convention IV and Human Rights instruments protect civilians in times of armed conflict.

Wars have been taking place since the earliest times. But in the early days there were no rules of war. Civilians were subject to atrocities. In this age of global civilization, the attempt is made to keep civilians out of the atrocities of war by bringing it into a framework through humanitarian law. Although international law says to protect people during armed conflict, after analyzing the context of different wars in the world we are witnessing that civilians suffer its brutality. Even if there are binding instruments of international law, no state can be compelled to do anything. It is mainly developed through numerous customs, state practices and opinion of jurists. Therefore, the international community must unite and bring those who are involved in crimes against humanity to justice. Often, it is observed that if developed or powerful countries are involved in various war crimes, international law cannot bring them under justice. Law must be implemented equally irrespective developed, developing or underdeveloped countries.

“If we don’t end war, War will end us”- this quote by H.G Wells is more relevant now than ever. International Humanitarian Law, which includes Geneva Convention IV and Additional Protocol,  protects civilians in times of armed conflict. In the case of war, rules of armed conflict must be practiced to ensure minimal number of civilian casualties. Proper mechanisms shall be brought to implement International Humanitarian Law globally.