With 'displacement' as the guiding thread, the purpose of this study is twofold. Firstly, it derives from the relevant provisions of international humanitarian law a legal framework for the protection of displaced persons in armed conflict, both from and during displacement. It contains a case study on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the recent Advisory Opinion on the Separation Wall, and addresses such issues as humanitarian assistance for displaced persons, the treatment of refugees in the hands of a party to a conflict and the militarisation of refugee camps. Secondly, it examines the issue of displacement within the broader context of civilian war victims and identifies and addresses the normative gaps of international humanitarian law, including the inadequacy of concepts such as 'protected persons' and the persistence of the dichotomy between international and non-international armed conflicts, which is at odds with the realities of contemporary armed conflicts.
• Addresses specific protection issues affecting refugees and internally displaced persons caught up in war • Draws parallels with developments in other branches of international law thereby grounding the issue of displacement within a broader discipline • Case studies and examples help readers understand how international humanitarian law applies in practice to contemporary situations of displacement
Contents
Introduction; 1. The prohibition of forced displacement in international armed conflicts; 2. The prohibition of forced movements of civilians in non-international armed conflicts; 3. Case study: Israel, the Separation Wall and displacement of civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; 4. Forced displacement as an international crime; 5. The protection of refugees under international humanitarian law; 6. Internally displaced persons as civilian victims of war; 7. International humanitarian law and the protection of refugee and IDP camps; Concluding remarks.
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