Geneva Call

Protection of civilians in armed conflict.

In situations of armed conflict, Geneva Call endeavours to strengthen the respect for humanitarian norms and principles to improve the protection of civilians.

Tätigkeit und Fokus

Geneva Call was created in 2000 out of concern for the dangers of anti-personnel mines that are designed to target civilians. From that initial focus, the work on protecting civilians in armed conflicts broadened significantly expanding the focus on other aspects such as prevention of child recruitment within armed forces, displacement, prevention of SGBV, protection of medical mission, food and security, cultural heritage etc.

Now, Geneva Call operates in 15 countries across 4 continents, for a world in which every civilian is safe from the dangers of armed conflict because all parties to a conflict, including armed groups and de facto authorities (AGDAs), fully respect international humanitarian norms and principles.

The unique approach of the organisation builds on a long-term dialogue with AGDAs that encourages them to adopt and respect humanitarian norms promising to minimize the impact of armed conflict on civilians. The dialogue uses several innovative tools such as the Deeds of Commitment or unilateral declarations by AGDAs as a way to reinforce their commitment to positive change.