Debunking “collateral damage:” Airwars report launch on civilian harm

On Monday December 13th, Airwars held the launch event for a new report on civilian harm, bringing together British and European MPs with global experts from Airwars, PAX for Peace, and Humanity and Inclusion to discuss civilian protection in the context of the use of explosive weapons in urban environments.

Airwars’s new report, ‘Why did they bomb us?’ Urban civilian harm in Gaza, Syria, and Israel from explosive weapons use’ – which is published in Arabic, Hebrew, and English – employs Airwars’ standard methodology to examine how, when, and where civilians are killed in urban conflicts – including all local reports of civilians killed and injured in May 2021 by Israeli strikes in Gaza and civilians harmed in Israel by Palestinian rocket fire. We also examined locally reported civilian casualties from Israel’s eight-year long Syria campaign against Iranian-linked forces.

High civilian casualties in Gaza are symptomatic of the profoundly troubling global military trend in the use of wide area effect weapons in populated areas. The use of heavy explosive weapons in towns and cities frequently leads to damage and destruction of houses, infrastructure and services, and drives displacement. In February 2022 states have a unique opportunity to strengthen the protection of civilians, with negotiations to develop a political declaration to address the humanitarian consequences from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

Sharing best practice across the Atlantic: a UK-US legislators’ dialogue on protecting civilians in armed conflict

To mark the group’s relaunch as the APPG on Drones and Modern Conflict the group held an event moderated by Dr. Larry Lewis with Congressman Jim McGovern and Gill Furniss MP to exchange experiences and expertise in a translantic dialogue, share best rpactises and lessons learned, and to identify what more needs to be done to enable greater civilian protection.

The UK and US are dealing with the challenge of calculating the impact of their own operations from a great distance, and the impact of their partners’ assistance.  These complexitis pose challenges to the protection of civilians, resulting in the sweeping destruction of civilian infrastructure and the devestating rise in civilian casualties by air opertions and through partnered ground operations.

Dmytro Chupryna offerred expert comment from Airwars’ perspective in the UK, and Annie Shiel, Senior Advisor at the Center for Civilians in Conflict offered perspective from the US.

13th Europe-Ukraine Forum

Dmytro Chupryna, Airwars Deputy Director is presenting at 13th Europe-Ukraine Forum “New Possibilities. New Threats” on a special discussion panel  ‘Strength lays in numbers’ that aims at exploring the security dilemma in the CEE area. Airwars will contribute to a discussion on how a data-focused approach changes military narratives in understanding civilian harm,  broader protection of civilians, defence, and security-related issues.

Yemen in Context: Past, Present and Future

Airwars research manager, Alex Hopkins, is speaking at a seminar looking at the current and varied dimensions of the conflict in Yemen, the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe. Alex will be joined on a panel by Jennifer Gibson of Repieve and Awssan Kamal from Oxfam. He will be speaking about Airwars monitoring of civilian harm in the long running US counter-terrorism campaign in Yemen, focusing on the dataset which AIrwars acquired from the award-winning Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Vienna Conference on Protecting Civilians in Urban Warfare

Dmytro Chupryna, Airwars Deputy Director is attending the Vienna Conference on Protecting Civilians in Urban Warfare. As part of our membership of the International Network on Explosive Weapons – which seeks a ban of wide area effect  munition use in urban areas – Airwars will contribute to a discussion on the various forms of harm caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas; the legal context; and good examples of military practices in understanding and mitigating civilian harm.

Reporting on Civilian Casualties in the War Against ISIS

Airwars Director Chris Woods and report author Alexa O’Brien are presenting at the launch of the new Airwars report ‘News in Brief: US Media Coverage of Civilian Harm in the War Against ISIS’ in Washington DC. Authored by investigative journalist Alexa O’Brien, the report draws on new research and interviews with reporters at major US media outlets, providing editors with recommendations for improved coverage of civilian harm. The discussion is joined by Azmat Khan, co-author of The Uncounted, a New York Times Magazine investigation into civilian casualties in Iraq; by Peter Bergen, New America’s Vice President; and by Greg Jaffe, national security correspondent for the Washington Post.

Freedom Across Borders

Dmytro Chupryna, Airwars Deputy Director is speaking at a conference ‘Freedom Across Borders’, organised by Syria Solidarity UK with Amnesty International UK – with the aim of discussing how human rights activism on one conflict can inform and support work on another. Airwars will contribute to a discussion on military accountability, focusing on what can be done in the UK and globally about the issue of civilian harm; evidence gathering; and the cost of impunity in Syria and beyond.

Security Policy Alternatives

Dmytro Chupryna, Airwars Deputy Director is attending a conference ‘Security Policy Alternatives’: Convening civil society to explore collaborative international engagement on security interventions & counter-terrorism’, organised by Saferworld and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Airwars will contribute to the discussion on the collaborative action by civil society to challenge securitised responses to crises and threats, and promote effective peace strategies to end violent conflicts.

The UK’s Role in Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict

Dmytro Chupryna and Chloe Skinner, Airwars respective Deputy Director and UK based Conflict Researcher and Advocacy Officer, are attending a roundtable discussion on ‘The UK’s Role in Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’, hosted by Save the Children and the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute. The discussion will be attended by representatives from the FCO, DFID, and the MOD, as well as many of our partner NGOs, including Every Casualty, Amnesty International, Crisis Action and Action on Armed Violence. While the FCO is in process of updating the existing Protection of Civilians (PoC) strategy, the aims of the discussion are to build cross-government and civil society support for the new strategy, and create space for the discussion of concrete steps toward a more comprehensive PoC strategy.

New Reporting Frontiers: OSI, Airstrikes and Civilian Harm

Airwars Director Chris Woods is presenting at the Frontline Club talk ‘New Reporting Frontiers: OSI, Airstrikes and Civilian Harm’ alongside with world’s leading Open Source Investigations teams to discuss the groundbreaking techniques being used to support and strengthen reporting of civilian harm in conflicts worldwide. From the Skripal poisoning to the Battle of Mosul, Open Source Investigations are bringing information to the public by harnessing the phenomena of mass communication. The panel will focus on how OSI teams and monitoring groups are working to strengthen our power to report, and uncover stories of civilian harm in the world’s bloodiest conflicts. Chris Woods will be joined by Times senior foreign correspondent Anthony Loyd, Bellingcat’s Yemen reporter Rawan Shaif and Milena Marin, project lead for Amnesty Decoders.

Germany’s involvement in the Anti-IS Coalition: the air strike on Al-Badhiya IDP-Shelter in Syria

Maike Awater, Airwars’ Netherland based Advocacy Officer and Conflict Researcher presents at a panel discussion commemorating the second anniversary of the Al-Badhiya air strike’s in Syria. The most worst known air strike of the Anti-IS Coalition with over 150 civilian casualties took place on 20 March 2017 when it targeted a shelter for internally displaced people. Germany, part of the coalition, has acknowledged its role in the strike by providing images of the target site to the coalition command, as well as battle damage assessment flights after the attack. Participants will aim to analyse how an estimated 150 civilian fatalities or more could have been prevented. They will also address the legal obligations of states to investigate right to life violations under human rights law; the need for public transparency; and the question of how to better protect civilians in armed conflict.

The human cost of airstrikes: are we counting civilian deaths?

Airwars Director Chris Woods is presenting at the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Drones session ‘The human cost of airstrikes: are we counting civilian deaths?’ The Ministry of Defence has been the second-largest contributor to the anti-ISIS Coalition. However, in over 1900 strikes in Iraq and Syria from 2014-2018, it has reported only one civilian casualty. Participants aim to explore why the military’s estimate of civilian deaths is so much lower than outside tallies; and what can be learned from recent Pentagon developments for progressing civilian protection from the UK and other militaries.

Global Islamist Terrorism: Oral Evidence Session at Defence Select Committee

Airwars’ Director Chris Woods is presenting at Oral Evidence Session, organised by  UK Parliament’s Defence Select Committee, on the theme of UK actions in the war against so-called Islamic State, and the broader issue of civilian harm, based on the recently published report. Airwars continues to challenge the Ministry of Defence over its claims of no civilian harm from UK actions – despite more than 1,000 targets reportedly being struck. The report contains a number of recommendations to help improve UK monitoring and reporting of civilian harm in future conflicts.

Armed drones at Sigonella: Legal issues and tensions between right to life protection, transparency obligations and military strategy

Airwars will be participating in the conference organised by ECCHR to outline civilian harm caused by the US in Libya from airstrikes which supposedly take off from Sigonella, Italy. Both Airwars and New America will present findings from their joint Libya project, detailing incidents of civilian harm in the North African country and providing a larger perspective on the global drone war.

Our long-range war in Syria and Iraq

Airwars in a collaboration with Intimacies of Remote Warfare and PAX is organising a discussion on the application of remote warfare and the risks it involves. Participants aim to engage on the issue of civilian casualties; the legal basis for attacks and support for non-state actors; and whether there is enough political and public debate about this?

ICRC Protection Reference Group meeting

Airwars is participating in a gathering of humanitarian practitioners and experts to discuss and reflect upon work undertaken in relation to conflict-related deaths and the significant push behind transparency and accountability with regard to monitoring and reporting on civilian casualties and damage to essential infrastructure. The event also addresses perceived responsibility for the humanitarian consequences of conflict by States who increasingly rely on inter-state support and partnerships among themselves and with armed groups.

ICRC Symposium on Digital Risks in Situations of Armed Conflict

Together with a wide range of partners Airwars is participating in a discussion to help develop a deeper understanding about the relationship between digital risk and the protection of individuals and communities affected by situations of armed conflict – and to identify areas for cooperative action to enable humanitarian actors and their partners to respond more effectively and appropriately to protection needs.

Protecting civilians: When is ‘incidental harm’ excessive?

Airwars is attending the London launch of a Chatham House research paper on the incidental harm side of the proportionality assessment, which belligerents are legally required to make.

Political Economy and Governance in Syria

Dmytro Chupryna, Airwars’ Deputy Director is participating in a major discussion on the political economy in Syria; on changes in governance; and on the role of civil society organisations in this process. The conference is hosted by the London School of Economics and Political Science.

ARRCs Article 5 Outreach Forum

Airwars’ Deputy Director, Dmytro Chupryna, is participating in a meeting which brings together civil and military actors  to explore how they might engage in a conflict setting; to discuss if there is a common understanding of Military and Civilian taxonomies; and to examine the relationship constraints and opportunities of command, control communication, co-ordination and collaboration.

EFAD annual meeting

As a member of the European Forum on Armed Drones, Airwars is joining a discussion on opportunities to use FOIA tools to secure more transparency on national decision making around drone acquisition, followed by the review on current EFAD network approaches (national work/ EU work, UN First Committee outreach) and opportunities for the next year.

The Erosion of the Civilian

Chris Woods, Airwars’ Director is presenting on the theme ‘Invisible Victims: Europe’s failure to concede battlefield civilian harm’ at the symposium, which brings together scholars from different disciplines; human rights and humanitarian experts; and investigative reporters in order to examine the precarious status of civilians and other protected persons in the midst of war.

Civilian casualties by coalition airstrikes in Iraq – Transparency and state responsibility

Our Netherlands based Advocacy Officer and Conflict Researcher is presenting at the round-table, organised by War Reparation Centre and the University of Amsterdam. The key area for discussion is the legal proceedings to obtain information from members of the Coalition on bombardments on Iraq.

Applying Data for Peacekeeping: Challenges and Opportunities

Maike Awater, Airwars’ Netherland based Advocacy Officer and Conflict Researcher is participating in PAX’s two-day conference devoted to expert level operational exchanges between data initiatives and peacekeeping staff and one for a market place of ideas linking to policy makers. The conference is the interactive marketplace of ideas between participants and policy makers.

Future of Proxy Warfare Workshop

Airwars’ Director, Chris Woods, is attending a Future of Proxy Warfare workshop, organised by the New America Foundation in co-operation with Arizona State University and the Omran Center. The workshop is designed as an open discussion on a wide range of practical questions regarding proxy warfare, its principals and proxies, and the use of social media.

Conspiracy. The 2018 CIJ Logan Symposium.

Airwars is participating in this key international investigative media event with its focus on subterfuge, propaganda and power. The event brings together a unique community of investigative journalists, whistleblowers, hackers, artists and experts to challenge power and reinvigorate the field of investigative journalism. Airwars Director Chris Woods is chairing a session on the challenges of on the ground and remote conflict casualty reporting.

Technical Consultation on the Establishment of an Independent Humanitarian Watch and related (In)Humanity Index

Alex Hopkins, Airwars data analyst is participating in a meeting aimed of reviewing the feasibility of developing an Independent Humanitarian Watch and Index concerned with war-related (in)humanity including the situation of those obliged to flee in order to safeguard their lives. The meeting involves individuals with expertise in data gathering/analysis as well as colleagues involved in countering the inhumanity associated with contemporary warfare.

Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten

Airwars’ researchers, Sophie Dyer and Abdulwahab Tahhan, are running a workshop on the use and verification of open source data at the Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten 2018. The festival is a key forum for investigative journalists with the discussions centring on current news coverage abroad and investigation blind spots.

Airspace Tribunal

Airwars Specialist Researcher Sophie Dyer, is participating in a broad discussion on technological developments, and a widening disparity in the global landscape of power, with civilians increasingly subjected to expanding commercial and military exploitation of technology in airspace and outer space and to the consequences of environmental change.

A brave new world: Adapting to a changing security landscape

Dmytro Chupryna, Airwars’ Deputy Director, is attending the Friends of Europe’s annual Policy Security Summit, the flagship event of this peace, security & defence programme, bringing together senior decision-makers with out-of-the-box movers and shakers, this occasion allows for in-depth and innovative discussions on today’s most pressing security and defence issues.