Protecting Civilians from Injury, Destruction, and Death during War and Conflict.

In 1989, in response to a devastating war famine, the UN negotiated one of the first comprehensive humanitarian access frameworks involving a state belligerent - the Government of Sudan - and a nonstate belligerent - the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). During discussions with the head of the Iraqi army, it was agreed that two specialized civil-military staff from the UN would work with the Iraqi military's planning team in J5 (the J5 is the Directorate of the Strategic Planning and Policy), providing guidance on protection of civilians, including battle intent and defensive and offensive strategies. Doctrinally, civilian protection has grown from a I core principle i of international humanitarian law to a I justification i for the use of multinational force to intervene I in i , and infringe I on i , the sovereignty of a country that is unable or unwilling to protect the civilians in its territory. [Extracted from the article]