Seeking safety: Identifying protection gaps for artists in South Sudan

Protection of artists during times of conflict has no specific framework in international humanitarian law. However, cultural sites, artefacts and institutions are protected. This article contributes empirical evidence from South Sudan to reveal how artists experience the protection gap and how they become informal protection stakeholders.

Humanitarian protection activities and the safety of strangers in the DRC, Syria and South Sudan

Many contemporary humanitarian organisations derive their legitimacy from their claims to protect civilians. Yet, what these organisations do in its name includes a diverse and contested range of activities that are often far from what global publics and affected populations understand as constituting protection. We review what three well-known humanitarian organisations publicly say they have done to protect strangers across three violent protracted crises.

The safety of strangers: the realities and politics of protecting civilians in times of war

Recent wars have brutally shown that civilians are not safe. This is despite high-level global commitments and multi-billion-dollar humanitarian spending to keep civilian strangers protected. The high civilian death tolls in recent armed conflicts are prompting new questions about how and if we can protect civilians in times of war, and what the real politics of such protection is. In this introduction, authors argue that it is essential to pay attention to civilians’ actual experiences of protection and their own strategies for staying safe.

Why ‘Framing Gaza’?

Allegra essayists write that the facts of war can no longer be disputed; instead, what is at stake is how violence and harm are framed.

Social Science Perspectives for Emergency Response to the Conflict in Northern Ethiopia

Ethiopia is currently experiencing several intersecting humanitarian crises including conflict, climatic shocks, COVID-19, desert locust infestation and more, affecting nearly 30 million people. This brief outlines important contextual factors and social impacts of the Northern Ethiopian crisis and offers key considerations to improve the effectiveness of the humanitarian response.

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