Strengthening NATO’s Ability to Protect

Worldwide, civilians often face harm in modern conflicts. As a multinational, crisis management organization, NATO’s alliance supports its member countries and efforts to foster peace and security—in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean—as well as to mitigate harm to civilians.

In 2016, the NATO Policy on the Protection of Civilians (PoC) made protection an explicit goal of future operations, kicking off development of a military concept on PoC, an action plan, and guidance. Whether in active security operations, train and assist missions, or support to disaster relief, NATO policy is to mitigate harm from its own actions and protect civilians from the harm of others.

To help NATO succeed, Stimson’s innovative project, in partnership with PAX and supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will cultivate and offer external expertise to NATO and help assess the levels of current doctrine and guidance within NATO nations and partners on protection of civilians. Emphasis will be on solutions-focused research and on building bridges across governments, academia, international organizations and NGOs.