Protection Field Coordination Toolkit - Chapter 4: Protection in Armed Conflict

Chapter 4: Protection in Armed Conflict

This chapter is part of the GPC Protection Field Coordination Toolkit. The Toolkit can be used by all Protection Clusters and cluster-like mechanisms – such as Protection Sectors and Protection Working Groups – working within the cluster system framework. This guidance is also available to partners and other organisations who want to understand the principles and practices of protection coordination.

Overview Chapter 4

In armed conflict, humanitarian actors, including Protection Clusters, often operate alongside state and non-state armed actors, as well as peacekeeping or political missions, which are key stakeholders in the Protection of Civilians (PoC). While PoC encompasses distinct protection actions, it can complement the approaches of humanitarian protection actors, leveraging differing mandates, capacities, and actions to safeguard civilians.

Armed conflict is a significant driver of forced displacement and creates and heightens protection risks for affected people. The Protection Cluster plays a pivotal role in addressing these risks through advocacy, coordination, and community-centred approaches. This guidance outlines key principles, legal frameworks, and the operational role of the Protection Cluster in ensuring a robust, principled, and effective response to protection risks in armed conflict.

This Chapter contains:

• Overview of protection in armed conflict, including international law and key principles.
• Explaining the differences between humanitarian protection and protection of civilian approaches
• Role of the Protection Cluster in Protection of Civilians (PoC).
• Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination and its impact on protection outcomes.

Toolkit Chapters:

• Ch.1: Humanitarian Coordination Overview 
• Ch.2: Humanitarian Programme Cycle  
• Ch.3: Internal Displacement 
• Ch.4: Protection in Armed Conflict 
• Ch.5: Centrality of Protection 
• Ch.6: Climate, Disaster, and Sudden Onset Emergencies 
• Ch.7: Durable Solutions 
• Ch.8: Cluster Transition, Deactivation and Reform 
• Ch.9: Advocacy and Communication 
• Ch.10: Data Responsibility and Safe Information Management 
• Ch.11: Cross-Cutting Issues (AGD, MPHSS, AAP, PSEA, Protection Mainstreaming) 
• Ch.12: Understanding Programmatic Approaches and Interventions