This HPG Working Paper is part of a larger research project looking at the discrepancy between normative developments in the protection of civilians and improvements in protection outcomes for civilians affected by conflict. It analyses how affected communities in CAR perceived protection threats, the strategies they used to mitigate them and their expectations of various actors in protection. The protection sector has adopted a community-based approach in its policy and practice, but it is unclear whether this has enabled protection actors to respond adequately to the perceptions and expectations of affected communities.
The research includes the views and perceptions of humanitarian workers, experts and analysts on CAR, peacekeepers and political actors, including the political wing of the UN. It argues that at least part of the failure of protection can be attributed to the delay in triggering the full set of mechanisms and responses at the global level that could have contributed to the protection of civilians. In part too it stems from a failure to meet the perceptions and expectations of affected people, and support what they themselves were doing to enhance their own protection.