Developed within the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) and lead by IOM and UNHCR, the purpose of this Guidance is to provide recommendations to Protection Cluster partners regarding protection service provision to ex-combatants, and was developed to respond to requests received from Protection Cluster partners. This Guidance briefly describes humanitarian principles, aligns International Humanitarian Law terminology on combatants with domestic law, identifies the point at which an individual is no longer considered a combatant, describes the documents that confirm that a person is discharged from military service and is therefore a civilian that can be eligible for protection assistance, and provides a list of services for veterans and their families that should be used by humanitarian protection partners for referrals.
