Chained to cannons or wearing targets on their T-shirts

Human shields in international humanitarian law

Bibliographic Data

ID12848592
AuthorsStéphanie Bouchié de Belle (corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume90
Issue872
Pages883-906
Publication date2008-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Review of the Red Cross (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1607-5889 • E-ISSN: 1816-3831
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1816383109000216
OpenAlexW2102635426
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited6

This article examines the legal problems associated with human shields. The author begins by discussing the absolute nature of the prohibition on their use and goes on to consider the precautions to be observed by the party being attacked. A violation of the ban on use of human shields by the attacked party is not an act of perfidy and does not release the attacker from his obligations. Because human shields are civilians, they are not legitimate objects of attack, even where they are acting in a voluntary capacity, as they are not taking direct part in hostilities. Among the attacker's obligations to take precautions, the proportionality principle applies in the classic way, even in the case of voluntary human shields

Human rights · International humanitarian law · Law and economics · Political science · Proportionality (law · Shields · Sociology · Engineering · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · International Law and Human Rights · Law · War, Ethics, and Justification

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