Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/37067

In this article, we examine the status of civilians in the ethical context. For this purpose, we explore the ethical sources that address their status; specifically, we consider the ethical reasons that civilians should be protected in armed conflict by examining ethical concepts that could differentiate civilians from combatants and justify the protection of civilians. In order to assess how the status of civilians can be characterised and their protection justified by ethical concepts, we examine the five following concepts; moral innocence, innocence as harmlessness, responsibility, rights, and personal project. We conclude by arguing that the concept of personal project could further strengthen the claim of ordinary civilians to their protection, if used together with the concepts of harmlessness and responsibility.