Paper details

Paper authors	Felicity Gray
In panel on	Armed non-state actors and humanitarian action
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

Unarmed civilian protection (UCP) – a humanitarian and security methodology that hinges on relationship building – encourages engagement with all parties to a conflict, including non-state armed groups (hereafter, armed groups). This paper aims to explore the possibilities and limitations of engagement between International Non-Government Organisations (INGOs) that subscribe to unarmed civilian protection mandates and armed groups. This particularly focuses on the work of Nonviolent Peaceforce in South Sudan and Myanmar as examples of their wider repertoire of strategies. This paper will focus on that wider repertoire. Though radically different contexts, in both countries the role of relationship building with armed groups has been central to implementation of their protection of civilians goals. The research program will explore and compare how relationships with armed groups shape unarmed civilian protection work. Specifically, it examines how relationships with armed groups are built and maintained, and how this shapes the possibilities and limitations of the work of INGOs like Nonviolent Peaceforce. The paper argues that though relationships with armed groups are central to the success of unarmed civilian protection strategies, legal and security factors can limit the capacity of INGOs to build these connections in practice.

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