Description
Both academic and policy makers are well aware that the vast majority of casualties in armed conflict are civilians. This has opened up ethical and legal issues about the protection of civilians (PoC), as much as it has raised important questions about the safety of civilians and who might protect them, and who or what to protect them from. Protection, however, is not only about a list of activities done to, with, or for civilians, but one that civilians do themselves. Civilians have adopted a range of diverse survival strategies vis-a-vis armed actors. These have included non-engagement (flight, silence), non-violent engagement (negotiation, paying taxes, and tolls), to more violent forms of engagement such as forming civil defence militias and armed vigilante groups. In particular, unarmed civilian protection (UCP) approaches have gained traction in restraining civilian targeting by armed actors. Drawing on empirical data from the Jos Stakeholders Centre for Peace (JSCP) in Plateau state, Nigeria, this paper offers new evidence around the local experiences of UCP for building protection infrastructures to sustain safe spaces in the context of inter-communal cleavages in Jos North. In particular it offers a collective impact model drawing on intergenerational collaboration to build the capacity of the people at the grassroots, and those in positions of local power and influence to prevent conflict escalation and violence directed at civilians.
