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Third, that organized violence against civilians isstrongly associated with armed conflicts. The data showthat three quarters of the perpetrators of violent campaignsagainst civilians were also involved in ongoing state-basedFigure 2.1 Number of Campaignsof One-sided Violence, 1989-2005403530252015105019891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005Data source: UCDP/Human Security Centre DatasetCampaigns of organized violence against civilianshave increased steadily but unevenly since the endof the Cold War.armed conflicts. Civil wars and assaults on civilians arestrongly interrelated. 24Fourth, that in most of the period 1989 to 2005—and withthe obvious exception of the Rwandan genocide—the numberof civilians killed in campaigns of organized violence has beenrelatively small compared with the total number of peoplekilled in armed combat.The trend line in Figure 2.1 shows the number of violentcampaigns against civilians rising unevenly from 18 to 28between 1989 and 2005—a 55% overall increase. This findingfits with the widely held belief that civilians have beenincreasingly targeted by both rebels and governments in thesomewhat chaotic post-Cold War years.It is not clear, however, why there should have been anincrease in campaigns of low-level violence against civilians,especially since the armed conflicts with which such campaignsare so often associated have declined in number.There have been a number of recent attempts to explainwhy governments and rebels intentionally target civilians. 25 Butnone of these studies has sought to account for the post-ColdWar increase in campaigns of organized violence—perhapsbecause few researchers have realized that such a trend exists.Figure 2.2 Number of Campaigns of One-sided Violence by Region, 1989-200514121086420Sub-Saharan AfricaMiddle East and north AfricaCentral and South AsiaAmericasEast and Southeast Asia and Oceania1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 19992001Europe2003 2005Data source: UCDP/Human Security Centre datasetSub–Saharan Africa experienced the highest number of campaigns of one-sided violence between 1989 and2005; Europe experienced the fewest.12H U M A N S E C U R I T Y B R I E F 2 0 0 6