Zivilbevölkerungsschutz

Zivilbevölkerung, or civilian population, is the portion of a country's residents who are not members of armed forces or organized armed groups and who do not directly participate in hostilities. It encompasses women, men, and children, as well as noncombatant government workers, medical personnel, journalists, and aid workers as long as they are not taking a direct part in fighting. The status is protected under international humanitarian law.

Under the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, the core rule is the distinction between civilians and combatants. Attacks may not be directed at civilians; reprisals, collective punishment, starvation, or indiscriminate effects are prohibited. The protection extends to civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, water and power systems, and to civilian relocation processes. Civilians who temporarily participate in hostilities do not lose their protected status for the time they are not participating.

In armed conflicts, civilians face risks including direct violence, forced displacement, loss of livelihoods, and limited access to aid and essential services. Displacement can be within national borders (internally displaced persons) or across borders as refugees. Humanitarian actors work to provide aid while respecting protection guarantees.

During peacetime the civilian population forms the majority of the demographic base; its welfare, rights, and security are central to governance, development, and social policy. The concept remains essential in international discourse on human rights and the law of armed conflict.