Civilian Population Victimization: A Systematic Review Comparing Humanitarian and Health Outcomes in Conventional and Hybrid Warfare

Abstract

Objective: Summarize the Hybrid War’s core characteristics and humanitarian and medical impacts. Method: A Systematic Literature Review according to PRISMA guidelines, using the following keywords, Hybrid War; Humanitarian Law; Human Rights; Lawfare, and search engines, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Gothenburg University’s database to collect literature from 2000 to 2022 in English. The eligibility of qualified articles was assessed, an inductive qualitative thematic analysis was applied, and the scientific evidence of each selected piece was evaluated. Results: The objectives of a Hybrid War are to achieve the tactical and strategic goals in a battle rather than to save civilian lives. It involves networks of state and non-state actors with various means of military and militia influences and strategies, creating difficulties in implementing, controlling, and evaluating the “International Humanitarian Law’s A State responsibility” principle, to gain insight into an armed conflict. It targets populated civilian areas and raises ethical and moral concerns by using Lawfare. Conclusions: Hybrid War’s multi-domain action should be met with multi-dimensional approaches and “acceptable losses” doctrine. Its characteristics and consequences should be learned and taught. Several measures need to be implemented to counteract its impacts, and a flexible surge capacity should be designed, planned, and executed.

Narcissistic Sociopathy in Global Autocratic Leaders: Arrested Development, Obsessive Demand for Power, and the Emergence of Unlawful Hybrid Wars

“…While the west is locked into conventional warfare rules guided by the ICRC and IHL, they are ignored by those initiating hybrid war. 6,7 There has been constant negligence of international law and erosion of international criminal law in the Ukrainian conflict as well as in other previous conflicts such as the one in Syria. However, this is not only due to the act of Russia and China and the other suspects, but also due to the attitude of Western states, including the United States and the United Kingdom as in the war against Iraq, causing 1 million deaths, war crimes, and torture.…”

The Impacts of Armed Conflicts and Civilian Uprisings on Children’s Health

“…With the development of the hybrid war, there has been a shift from international armed conflicts to non-international conflicts, bringing the battlefield closer to the civilians and exposing the vulnerable population to more risk of displacement, injuries, and deaths. The current war in Ukraine is no exception, with a report of over 7 million refugees and thousands of deaths and injuries [ 19 ]. A hybrid war’s main goal is to destroy a country’s infrastructure.…”

Hospitals’ Evacuation Preparedness; A Survey Among 42 Thai Hospitals According to the Flexible Surge Capacity Concept.

“…Community engagements, non-pro t organizations, or private actors who could enhance hospital response to an evacuation or other major incidents were missing. Since the need for community involvement has been evident during the COVID-19 pandemic and might be desirable during the ongoing Ukrainian war 7,8,16,17,21,22,36,46,47 , lessons learned should be magni ed to assemble practical integrated systems such as FSC, and educational and training initiatives that integrate surge capacity with collaborative elements of MIMMS' CSCATTT, emphasizing leadership formations, command and control structures, and diverse communication channels 21,33,34,[46][47][48][49] .…”

“…Some emergencies necessitate a total evacuation since hospitals might become the target of an incident, while in other situations, hospitals may need to be unburdened or partially evacuated [3][4][5][6] . For example, according to the World Health Organization, during the current Ukrainian Hybrid war 7 , which violates the International Humanitarian Law and Geneva convention, hospitals were frequently attacked, causing deaths and injuries among civilians living within or adjacent to the targeting area 8,9 .…”