Gender, Conflict and International Humanitarian Law: A Critique of the "Principle of Distinction"

This book conducts a gendered critique of the "principle of distinction" in international humanitarian law (IHL), with a focus on recent conflicts in Africa. The "principle of distinction" is core to IHL. It states that civilians may not be targeted in attack, while combatants and those civilians directly participating in hostilities can be. The law defines what it means to be a combatant and a civilian and what behavior constitutes direct participation. Close examination of the origins of the principle reveals that IHL was based on a gendered view of conflict, which envisages men as fighters and women as victims of war. Problematically, this view often does not accord with the reality in "new wars" today in which women are playing increasingly active roles. This volume critically examines the principle through a gendered lens, questioning the extent to which the principle serves to protect women in modern conflicts and how it fails them.