GC: n
S: AI – http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE24/067/2012/en/2fcc3f25-7412-45a5-bccd-3d2a4f8b6c66/mde240672012en.html (last access: 9 December 2014); ICRC – https://www.icrc.org/ihl/WebART/470-750064?OpenDocument (last access: 9 December 2014).
N: 1. civilian (adj.): late 14c., ‘judge or authority on civil law,’ from Old French civilien ‘of the civil law,’ created from Latin civilis ‘relating to a citizen, relating to public life, befitting a citizen; popular, affable, courteous’. Sense of ‘non-military person’ is attested by 1819 (earlier in this sense was civilian, attested from c.1600 as ‘non-soldier’). The adjective is from 1640s.
population (n): 1610s, from Late Latin populationem (nominative populatio) ‘a people; a multitude,’ as if from Latin populus ‘a people’). Population explosion is first attested 1953.
2. The civilian population comprises all persons who are civilians.
3. There were two main classes of civilian to whom protection against arbitrary action on the part of the enemy was essential in time of war.
- On the one hand, persons of enemy nationality living in the territory of a belligerent State.
- On the other, the inhabitants of occupied territories.
4. We have to differentiate between civilian population and combatants, and work to spare civilian population and property. The non-combatants: describes civilians not engaged in combat. It also includes persons, such as medical personnel and chaplains (who are regular soldiers but are protected because of their function). It is also distinguished from unprotected persons: people who are fighting but are not members of a regular armed force and who therefore do not enjoy the full protections of the Geneva Conventions.
5. Over the past 60 years, civilian population have been the main victims of war. Protecting civilians during armed conflict is therefore a cornerstone of IHL. This protection extends to their property. IHL also protects particularly vulnerable civilian groups such as women, children and displaced persons.
6. Sometimes, in order to refer to the civilian population, the media only use the word civilian.
7. Cultural Interrelation: In the conflict confronting Israel and Palestine, we saw many attacks against Gaza territory. Using all means of military weaponry, the occupying Power deliberately unleashed excessive, indiscriminate and disproportionate force against the defenseless civilian population in the Gaza Strip. These brutal killings and injuries were clearly committed by Israel in grave breach of international humanitarian law.
S: 1. OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=civilian&searchmode=none ; http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=population&searchmode=none (last access: 9 December 2014). 2. ICRC – https://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_rul_rule5 (last access: 9 December 2014). 3. ICRC – https://www.icrc.org/ihl/COM/380-600007?OpenDocument (last access: 9 December 2014). 4. HREA – http://goo.gl/VFKT3L (last access: 9 December 2014). 5. ICRC – https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/protected-persons/civilians (last access: 9 December 2014). 6. ICRC – https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/protected-persons/civilians (last access: 9 December 2014). 7. PUN – http://palestineun.org/12-august-2014-israeli-brutal-actions-and-violations-against-the-palestinian-people/ (last access: 9 December 2014).
SYN:
S:
CR: civil protection
