40 Norms of protection: Responsibility to protect, protection of civilians and their interaction, Francis, Popovski and Sampford (eds), United Nations University Press, 2012, ISBN 978-92-808-1218-3 2 The protection of civilians in armed conflict: Four concepts Hugh Breakey For thousands of years, myriad cultures across the globe have developed principles aiming to protect unarmed populations from violence at the hands of the armed. Since the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 such efforts have fallen under the rubric of the Protection of Civilians (POC). This chapter details the nature of POC in the contemporary context. It argues that while all POC actors have a broadly shared understanding of the core concerns of POC – the basic rights of non-combatants and the types of violence that threaten them – the different perspectives, re- sources and powers possessed by separate types of POC actors make those actors develop distinct POC roles and responsibilities. Over its four main sections, this chapter distils four separate versions of POC, reflective of the different perspectives and means brought by the four types of agent who are centrally concerned with POC. In brief: Combatant POC. Directed to combatants in armed conflicts, combatant POC is the principle: “We must not harm or unduly risk harm to non- combatants.” Dictated by the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols, these legal obligations constrain the actions, weapons and tactics used in armed conflicts in order to reduce the harm inflicted on civilians and wounded soldiers. Peacekeeping POC. Directed to peacekeeping forces that have protection mandates, peacekeeping POC is the principle: “Taking responsibility for peace enforcement in an area necessarily involves taking responsi- bility for the protection of civilians in that area.” These duties require peacekeeping operations to ensure a reasonable level of protection Francis, Angus, Vesselin Popovski, and Charles Sampford. Norms Of Protection, edited by Angus Francis, et al., UNUP, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/griffith/detail.action?docID=3039661. Created from griffith on 2017-04-10 16:34:30. Copyright © 2012. UNUP. All rights reserved.