British attitude to war 'hardens'

Eight years ago, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) found that 72% of people in the UK felt civilians should always be protected.

But a poll of 1,000 adults found that figure had fallen to 51% this year.

Yves Daccord, from the ICRC, said one of the reasons for the change was that people felt "more at war" because of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He said the finding might seem "shocking", but most people still felt it was wrong to deny civilians food or medicine during war.

And he said it was very positive to see the support British people still had for other rules of combat such as the protection of prisoners of war.

'Images of war'

Mr Daccord, who is the ICRC's director of communications, said he believed there were three main reasons for the apparent change in attitudes towards civilians.

"First, people clearly feel much more at war than eight years ago. Terrorism and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are part of that," he said.

UK ATTITUDES TO WAR

• 79% say prisoners of war should not be tortured
• 80% oppose the use of nuclear weapons
• 47% say atrocities are "inevitable"
• Source: ICM poll for ICRC

"Second, there is the way war is communicated now. People see far more graphic images, say of Abu Ghraib, coming from the internet.

"Thirdly, we're in a world where 'civilian' is a much more ambiguous word. What is a civilian when we have wars like Lebanon fought in cities not on battlefields?"

Mr Daccord said there was a "strong message" against targeting civilians when those questioned were asked for their views on specific tactics such as taking civilian hostages.

Some 85% were against this tactic, up from 76% in 1999.

The survey also found that more people today were aware of the Geneva Convention - the rules protecting non-combatants.

Overall, 84% of people said anyone who violated those rules should be prosecuted.

Military background

But the ICRC said it was concerned at the much lower awareness of the Geneva Convention among the youngest age group.

Some 61% of 18 to 24-year-olds knew of it, compared with more than 90% in all other age categories.

The survey also found differences in opinion between interviewees with military experience and those without.

Overall, 47% of those polled thought atrocities in war were "inevitable", but that figure rose to 70% among those with a military background.

The survey was carried out in August by pollsters ICM.

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