Handbook

How has war changed and how can the international community help its victims? As the number of wars and other conflicts globally have grown in recent years, we have massive increases in the numbers of civilians killed in conflict while the numbers of displaced persons (including refugees and internally displaced persons) are at the highest levels in seventy years. This subject begins by examining how war has changed, focusing on the significant growth of civil wars as well as other forms of conflict including terrorism and mass atrocities. It then examines how humanitarian actors – including the United Nations, other international and regional organizations, humanitarian non-governmental organizations, and states – seek to work together in these complex emergencies to protect civilians and forced migrants. It will overview both the benefits and pitfalls of the current humanitarian and international legal systems and explore how these mechanisms can be improved.