Who is a civilian. Do you really know?

In the midst of a raging conflict, how can you tell the difference between a civilian and a combatant?

In this extra-special episode of Humanitarian Conversations, RedR Australia’s CEO Dr. Helen Durham sits down with international lawyer, Firouzeh, to discuss the power and complexities of international humanitarian law (IHL).

Firouzeh is an expert in IHL and human rights law. She’s worked for Swiss NGO Geneva Call since 2018 and is currently their country director for Myanmar. Geneva Call is a unique organisation which works with non-state armed groups to help protect civilians in times of armed conflicts.

In this thought-provoking chat, Firouzeh and Helen discuss the challenges of the current crisis in Myanmar and how difficult it is to define a ‘civilian’ in this conflict. Firouzeh also explains why Myanmar is one of the most intense conflicts in the world today, and how promoting international humanitarian law with defacto armed groups can protect vulnerable civilians who are caught in the crossfire—saving lives and restoring some humaneness to armed conflicts.

Following this, Helen and Sally also chat more broadly about the state of IHL during today’s conflicts, and what all humanitarian and development workers should know about IHL before heading out into the field. 

You can join our conversations on LinkedIn, X and Facebook. 

Read the transcript here.

Hosts: Sally Cunningham and Dr. Helen Durham 

Guest: Firouzeh 

Producer, engineer and composer: Jill Farrar