Human shield is a military and political term describing the deliberate placement of civilians in or around combat targets to deter an enemy from attacking those targets. It may also refer to the use of civilians to literally shield combatants during attacks, by forcing the civilians to march in front of the soldiers. This is done in the hope that the other party will be reluctant to attack them. Furthermore, if the other party attacks these targets anyway, the resulting civilian casualties have propaganda value.
Using this technique increases the civilian casualty rate and is illegal by any nation that is party to the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Read more about Human Shield: 13th-century Mongols, World War II, First Gulf War, Tactic in Peace Campaigning
Famous quotes containing the words human and/or shield:
“May it not be that, just as we have to have faith in Him, God has to have faith in us and, considering the history of the human race so far, may it not be that “faith” is even more difficult for Him than it is for us?”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“The lichen on the rocks is a rude and simple shield which beginning and imperfect Nature suspended there. Still hangs her wrinkled trophy.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)