Jonathan Horowitz Comments on Army Manual on Avoiding Civilian Harm
Jonathan Horowitz of the Open Society Justice Initiative has largely positive comments on the new Army manual on avoiding civilian harm. It opens:
This month, Lawfareblog.com posted the U.S.
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Jonathan Horowitz of the Open Society Justice Initiative has largely positive comments on the new Army manual on avoiding civilian harm. It opens:
This month, Lawfareblog.com posted the U.S. Army’s new manual on Civilian Casualty Mitigation (ATTP 3-37.31), which has the self-described purpose of providing “doctrinal guidance for minimizing CIVCAS [army short-hand for ‘civilian casualties’] incidents and managing their consequences.” In many ways, the manual elaborates on aspects of civilian protection priorities that U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine has been advancing for years. Overall ATTP 3-37.31 is an impressive document, but there are a few drawbacks.Horowitz concludes:
All-in-all, however, the manual is a positive step and the issue of [civilian casualty mitigation], both as a legal obligation and as a strategic priority, should be incorporated into all relevant military manuals. It’s to the Army’s credit that it took the time to reflect on the past 10-plus years of war to publish this manual. The manual’s existence is also a tribute to the persistence of human rights groups, civil society and journalists for raising the problems that civilians face during conflict.
Benjamin Wittes is editor in chief of Lawfare and a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of several books.
