Civilian

A civilian is a person who is not a member of a state's armed forces. In armed conflict, the term distinguishes people protected from direct attack unless they take a direct part in hostilities.

Combatant: A person authorized to participate directly in hostilities under the law of armed conflict. Combatants may be targeted as military participants; civilians are generally protected from direct attack.
International humanitarian law: The body of international law regulating conduct during armed conflict and protecting people affected by it. Its rules establish the central legal protections and limits relevant to civilians in war.
Civilian protection: Measures and legal obligations intended to prevent harm to civilians during armed conflict. It translates civilian status into practical safeguards before, during, and after attacks.
Civilian population: The population of people who are not members of a state's armed forces, considered collectively. The law protects civilian populations as groups as well as individual civilians.
Armed forces: A state's organized military institutions, including the personnel and units it maintains for defense or warfare. Membership in a state's armed forces is the clearest distinction from civilian status.
Geneva Conventions: Four 1949 treaties that set major protections for people affected by armed conflict. The Fourth Convention specifically protects civilians in international armed conflicts.
Internally displaced person: A person forced to leave home but who has not crossed an internationally recognized state border. Conflict often displaces civilians within their own country, without making them refugees.
Nationality: A legal bond between a person and a state, usually involving rights and duties. Civilian status concerns military membership, not whether someone belongs to the state involved.
Noncombatant: A person who does not take part in fighting, including civilians and certain military personnel. The category overlaps with civilians but can also include military personnel not engaged in combat.
Principle of distinction: A rule of international humanitarian law requiring parties to distinguish civilians and civilian objects from combatants and military objectives. This rule requires attacks to be directed at military objectives, not civilians.

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