Violence against humanitarians is a commonplace phenomenon in contemporary armed conflict. This paper examines how the manipulation of international legal principles for political or military purposes, a practice known as ‘lawfare’, impacts humanitarian security in conflict-affected areas. Drawing on a case study of the Syrian conflict (2011–), it finds that lawfare has been used to legitimate systematic civilian targeting by pro-government forces and to delegitimise the delivery of aid to opposition-held areas of the country. Efforts to use legal measures to promote civilian welfare—by way of sanctions or demands for cross-border humanitarian access—have been taken as evidence of Western attempts to politicise humanitarian considerations and international law. In practice, this has meant increased security risks for aid workers and impunity for those implicated in the violence. The paper concludes by calling for more critical research on lawfare and politicisation of international law as part and parcel of civilian protection in conflict-affected areas.

中文翻译：

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用言语对抗：人道主义安全和法律在当代武装冲突中不断变化的作用

针对人道主义者的暴力是当代武装冲突中的普遍现象。本文探讨了出于政治或军事目的而操纵国际法律原则（一种称为“法律”的做法）如何影响受冲突影响地区的人道主义安全。通过对叙利亚冲突（2011-）的案例研究，它发现法律已被用来使亲政府部队有系统地瞄准平民的行为合法化，并使向该国反对派控制地区提供援助的行为合法化。通过制裁或要求跨境人道主义准入的方式，利用法律措施促进平民福祉的努力已被视为西方试图将人道主义考虑和国际法政治化的证据。实际上，这意味着援助人员的安全风险增加，以及参与暴力事件的人有罪不罚。该文件最后呼吁对国际法的法律和政治化进行更批判性的研究，作为受冲突影响地区平民保护的重要组成部分。