Airwars and PAX launch CPM

CPM has been over a year in the making. First, it required the refinement of an existing framework by Center for Civilians in Conflict, so that (1) it could measure state policy and performance on civilian harm mitigation (CHM) using open-source materials only, and (2) it could do so in way that would allow for comparisons between countries. Second, we applied the framework on the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States. These three states were chosen because of significant contributions to military operations in the recent past like the War against ISIS, their stated commitments to CHM, and because of existing access and knowledge by our organizations to these states. Independent experts in the field then peer reviewed our analyses, and our team provided a briefing to policymakers from all three states on our initial findings.

Last Tuesday, we went live with the first phase our project in a public Zoom event that included esteemed speakers from civil society and academia to reflect on the potential relevance of CPM to these fields. A recording of the launch can be viewed here or below. The launch also marked the publication of:

• Our website
• Our evaluation framework
• The country analyses of the Netherlands, UK, and US

We aim to expand our analysis to include other countries in the future, thereby building a repository of good practice and lessons learned on CHM that can be used by civil society, policymakers, academics, and media. We further want to explore expanding our framework to include other important aspects related to civilian protection.

Keep an eye on the CPM website or follow PAX Protection of Civilians on LinkedIn to stay informed of updates to the CPM project.