Regulating non-international armed conflicts: a review essay of 'The Law of Non-International Armed Conflict' by Sandesh Sivakumaran

This review essay engages with Sandesh Sivakumaran’s book The Law of Non-International Armed Conflict, exploring its significance both in international humanitarian law and international law more generally.

Armed conflicts in the post-Soviet region: Present situation, prospects for settlement, consequences. OSW Study 9/2003

Unresolved conflicts continue to smoulder in Transnistria, Chechnya, Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia. "Para-states" have formed in most conflict-affected areas. These have grown to become permanent players in the region. In Chechnya, guerrilla fights continue in the wake of the Russian army's siege of the republic. The conflict in Tajikistan ended in 1997 and the normalisation process is currently under way. Each of these conflicts has entailed profound political, social, ethnic and economic changes, as well as affecting other spheres of life. Presently, it is impossible to return to the pre-conflict situation. The "para-states" have fortified their independence and are no longer controlled by the external powers on which they depended in the initial phases of the conflicts.

Beyond Attribution: Responsibility of Armed Non-State Actors for Reparations in Northern Ireland, Colombia and Uganda

This chapter explores the responsibility of armed non-state actors for reparations to victims. Traditionally international law has focused on the responsibility of the state, and more recently the responsibility of convicted individuals before the International Criminal Court, to provide reparations for international crimes. Yet despite the prevalence of internal armed conflict over the past few decades, there responsibility of armed groups for reparations has been neglected in international law. Although there is a tentative emerging basis for armed groups to provide reparations under international law, such developments have not yet crystallized into hard law. However, when considering the more substantive practice of states in Northern Ireland, Colombia and Uganda, a greater effort can be discerned in ensuring that such organizations are responsible for reparations. This paper finds that not only can armed non-state actors be held collectively responsible for reparations, but due to the growing number of internal armed conflict they can play an important role in ensuring the effectiveness of reparations in remedying victims’ harm. Yet, finding armed groups responsible for reparations is no panacea for accountability, due to the nature of armed conflicts, responsibility may not be distinct, but overlapping and joint, and such groups may face difficulties in meeting their obligations, thus requiring a holistic approach and subsidiary role for the state.

Identifying and recording every casualty of armed conflict

This article discusses the international legal obligation to identify and record every casualty of armed conflict that finds its basis in the treaties and customs of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. The article applies the various facets of the legal obligation to the armed conflicts in Iraq and Sri Lanka and argues that the parties in these conflicts failed in their international legal responsibility to civilians.

Humanitarian law, human rights law and the bifurcation of armed conflict

This article offers a fresh examination of the distinction drawn in international humanitarian law (IHL) between international and non-international armed conflicts. In particular, it considers this issue from the under-explored perspective of the influence of international human rights law (IHRL). It is demonstrated how, over time, the effect of IHRL on this distinction in IHL has changed dramatically. Whereas traditionally IHRL encouraged the partial elimination of the distinction between types of armed conflict, more recently it has been invoked in debates in a manner that would preserve what remains of the distinction. By exploring this important issue, it is hoped that the present article will contribute to the ongoing debates regarding the future development of the law of non-international armed conflict.

Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh: unfrozen conflicts between Russia and the West. OSW Special Report, 9 July 2008

The Southern Caucasus is the site of three armed conflicts with separatist backgrounds, which have remained unsolved for years: the conflicts in Georgia's Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Azerbaijan's conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh (including the areas around Nagorno-Karabakh which were seized by Armenian separatists in the course of the war). Neither Georgia nor Azerbaijan have had any control over the disputed areas since the early 1990s. Both states are simultaneously in conflict with the separatists' informal patrons, respectively Russia and Armenia. After over a decade of relative peace during which the conflicts remained frozen, tension has recently risen considerably: in the case of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, large-scale fighting may break out in the coming months, whereas in the case of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Azeri-Armenian conflict, such a threat may materialise within the next five years. The current formula for politically resolving the conflicts is ineffective and close to exhaustion, and the prospect of any alternative peace plans being developed is rather distant. The conflicts in the Southern Caucasus are of increasing concern to the West, mainly because of the Western actors' constantly growing political and economic involvement in Georgia and Azerbaijan (including support for reforms and development of the gas and oil transmission infrastructures), as well as its less intensive commitments in Armenia. An outbreak of open fighting over the separatist regions would destabilise the Southern Caucasus, largely undoing the results of the actions which the EU, NATO and the USA have taken in the region in recent years. Moreover, the situation in the Southern Caucasus, especially the separatisms themselves, have in fact become an element in the wider geopolitical game between the West and Russia. For Russia, the stakes are maintaining its influence in the region, and for the West, demonstrating its ability to effectively promote democracy and economic modernisation in the countries bordering it.

Between Two Fires: Civilian Resistance during Internal Armed Conflict in Peru

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Responsibility to Protect and Sovereignty

The responsibility to protect ('R2P') principle articulates the obligations of the international community to prevent conflict occurring, to intervene in conflicts, and to assist in rebuilding after conflicts. The doctrine is about protecting civilians in armed conflicts from four mass atrocity crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. This book examines interventions in East Timor, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Kosovo. The chapters explore and question UN debates with respect to the doctrine both before and after its adoption in 2005; contrasting state attitudes to international military intervention; and what takes place after intervention. It also discusses the ability of the Security Council to access reliable information and credible and transparent processes to enable it to make a determination on the occurrence of atrocities in a Member State. Questioning whether there is a need to find a closer operational link between the responsibilities to prevent and react and a normative link between R2P and principles of international law, the contributions examine the effectiveness of the framework of R2P for international decision-making in response to mass atrocity crimes and ask how an international system to deal with threats and mass atrocities can be developed in the absence of a central authority. This book will be valuable to those interested in international law, human rights, and security, peace and conflict studies

La paz como un signo de estos tiempos : la Iglesia latinoamericana ante la violencia y el aporte de las mujeres a la paz

Resumen: Esta ponencia forma parte del primer Panel Inaugural del II Congreso de Teólogas latinoamericanas y alemanas “Espacios de Paz”, realizado del 28 al 31 de marzo de 2016. Se aborda el tema de la paz como signo de estos tiempos desde tres claves: el contexto latinoamericano, la centralidad de la violencia en los estudios sobre la paz y su relación con las mujeres como constructoras de paz y víctimas de violencia. La reflexión se organiza en dos partes: primero, se analiza el discernimiento teológicopastoral sobre la paz realizado por la Conferencia de Medellín, en un contexto de subdesarrollo e injusticia caracterizados como violencia institucional y pecado estructural; además, se mencionan en forma breve los desafíos de reconciliación que plantearon los procesos de transición que siguieron a los gobiernos militares y a los conflictos armados internos. En la segunda parte, se enfocan algunos valores y esferas de la paz y la violencia –personal, estructural y cultural–, para considerar el concepto secular y cristiano de “pacificación” (peacebuilding) y los aportes teóricos y prácticos de las mujeres en la construcción de la paz en contextos de violencia.

As normas referentes às crianças-soldado no Direito Internacional

Este trabalho trata da normatização internacional relativa às crianças-soldado e aborda, sobretudo, a utilização de defesas baseadas em alegações de violação aos princípios da legalidade e em ocorrência de erro de proibição por réus de processos penais do Tribunal Especial para Serra Leoa e do Tribunal Penal Internacional. Diante disso, investiga se a proibição geral ao envolvimento infantil em conflitos armados e as infrações a essa vedação particularmente as condutas de recrutar, alistar e utilizar crianças como soldados integram o Direito Internacional Costumeiro e, em caso positivo, em que momento teria ocorrido a inserção nesse campo. Analisa, igualmente, se o argumento da boa-fé pode ser um elemento de defesa válido naqueles processos, com fundamento no relativismo cultural. Pretende, com isso, esclarecer o processo de criminalização daquelas condutas, além de identificar a posição hierárquica ocupada pelas normas em questão. Para tanto, recorre à verificação da prática estatal e da opinio juris relativas ao tema. Com isso, conclui que o regramento possui natureza costumeira e pertence ao domínio do jus cogens.

Utrata bezpieczeństwa żywnościowego jako źródło wewnętrznych konfliktów zbrojnych w Darfurze

Zgodnie z definicją wypracowaną w ramach ONZ, bezpieczeństwo żywnościowe istnieje gdy ludzie mają nieprzerwanie zapewniony „fizyczny i ekonomiczny dostęp do wystarczającej, bezpiecznej i bogatej w składniki odżywcze żywności”. Artykuł wyjaśnia kształtowanie się koncepcji bezpieczeństwa żywnościowego oraz wyodrębnienie jego trzech wymiarów – tj. międzynarodowego, narodowego i odnoszącego się do gospodarstwa domowego. Celem jest analiza międzyplemiennych konfliktów i wojny domowej w Darfurze w kontekście rywalizacji o zasoby zapewniające bezpieczeństwo żywnościowe mieszkańcom tej sudańskiej prowincji.

An Enchanted Tool? Humanitarian Assistance and the ILC Draft Articles on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters

Despite previous attempts at codification of international law regarding international responses to natural and human-made disasters, there is currently no binding international legal framework to regulate the provision of humanitarian assistance outside armed conflicts. Nevertheless, since the International Law Commission (ILC) included the protection of persons in the event of disasters on its programme of work in 2006, it has provisionally adopted eleven draft articles that have the potential to create binding obligations on states and humanitarian actors in disaster settings. Draft articles adopted include the definition of ‘a disaster’, the relationship of the draft articles to the international humanitarian law of armed conflict, recognition of the inherent dignity of the human person, and the duty of international cooperation. However, the final form of the draft articles has not been agreed. The Codification Division of the UN Office of Legal Affairs has proposed a framework convention format, which has seen support in the ILC and the UN General Assembly Sixth Committee. The overall aim of this article is to provide an analysis of the potential forms of international regulation open to the ILC and states in the context of humanitarian responses to disasters. However to avoid enchanting the ILC draft articles with unwarranted power, any examination of form requires an understanding of the substantive subject matter of the planned international regulation. The article therefore provides an overview of the international legal regulation of humanitarian assistance following natural and human-made disasters, and the ILC’s work to date on the topic. It then examines two key issues that remain to be addressed by the ILC and representatives of states in the UN General Assembly Sixth Committee. Drawing on the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the development and implications of binding and non-binding international texts are examined, followed by an analysis of the suggested framework convention approach identified by the Special Rapporteur as a potential outcome of the ILC work.