Force Against Non-State Actors as Armed Conflict

2010 ◽  
pp. 85-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noam Lubell
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
State Actors

Culture, conflict and armed non-state actors: cultural heritage protection in a changing operating environment

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Dunkley
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Operating Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Protection Of Cultural Heritage

PurposeThis paper examines the implications, for States Parties, of the 1954 Convention safeguarding regime in the context of contemporary non-international armed conflict and ANSAs, with a general focus on the Middle East and in situ cultural property.Design/methodology/approachAs the nature of conflict changes and armed forces become further engaged in supporting peacekeeping operations and deliver training to host nation security forces, and human security becomes an increasingly important function of military operations, the protection of cultural heritage (as an expression of a people's identity) becomes a significant contribution to individual operations.FindingsInternational obligations to States Parties for the in situ protection of cultural heritage, under both International Humanitarian Law and HC54, become an ever increasing important responsibility for armed forces to help deliver.Research limitations/implicationsWhile NATO is increasingly focussed on the defence of western states parties from threats posed by the Russian Federation, and observing a commercially and military assertive China, a recent report issued by the Pentagon noted that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is regrouping in Iraq faster than in Syria and could regain territory in six to twelve months in the absence of sustained military pressure.Practical implicationsPreservation in situ is used by heritage professionals to refer to the protection of a cultural heritage asset in its original location while the in situ protection of cultural property is a cornerstone topic of the 1954 Hague Convention Special Protection category. The Convention was drafted with international armed conflict in mind but the initial signatories to the Convention had sufficient foresight to consider non-international armed conflict and its potential effect on in situ cultural property by parties to the conflict, including Armed Non-State Actors (ANSA)Social implicationsUN Security Council Resolution 2449 (December 2018) recognized the negative impact of the presence, violent extremist ideology and actions on stability in Syria and the region of both Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Al-Nusrah Front (ANF). This includes not only the devastating humanitarian impact on civilian populations but also the unlawful destruction of cultural heritage.Originality/valueANSAs comprise individuals and groups that are wholly or partly independent of State governments and which threaten or use violence to achieve their goals, such as Islamic State. As such, the military operating environment has changed since 1954.

The Definition of Civilians in Non-International Armed Conflicts

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Marquis Bissonnette
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Direct Participation ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Shed Light

This article analyzes the perceptions of armed groups regarding the concept of civilians in non-international armed conflicts, through their codes of conduct and other commitments. It intends to shed light on the implementation by these non-state actors of the very critical principle of distinction, the exact articulation of is hotly debated in non-international armed conflict. It thus presents the different approaches to the principle of distinction in non-international armed conflict: the specific-act approach, the membership approach, the functional non-privileged combatancy approach, and the direct participation in hostilities with extended temporal scope in light of the commitments and undertakings of various armed groups. It concludes with the findings made on the basis of the study of the commitments made by armed groups, underlying in particular the issues that remain problematic regarding the principle of distinction in non-international armed conflict, as well as the issues on which a consensus in conceivable.

Engaging armed non-State actors on the prohibition of recruiting and using children in hostilities: Some reflections from Geneva Call's experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 101 (911) ◽  
pp. 603-621
Author(s):  
Pascal Bongard ◽  
Ezequiel Heffes
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Fragmented Structure ◽  
Important Challenge ◽  
International Obligations ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Lack Of Knowledge

AbstractDespite the existence of a comprehensive international legal framework protecting children in armed conflict, ensuring its respect by armed non-State actors (ANSAs) still remains an important challenge. This can be linked to several circumstances, such as their lack of knowledge of the law, the absence of an incentive to abide by the applicable rules, their fragmented structure and their lack of capacity to implement the applicable framework. Certain practical cases, however, show that ANSAs’ behaviours may vary throughout armed conflicts. While certain groups have, at a given moment, breached some of their international obligations, others have shown some degree of commitment to respecting children's safeguards. When addressing the prohibition of recruiting and using children in hostilities, the reasons behind these variations have remained insufficiently explored. This article reviews some of the lessons learned from Geneva Call's experience when engaging ANSAs towards their compliance with child protection norms.

INFORMATION ACTIVITIES – ESSENTIAL WARFIGHTING FUNCTION IN TODAY’S MILITARY OPERATIONS

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-77
Author(s):  
George-Ion TOROI
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Military Force ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Psychological Dimension ◽  
Military Conflicts ◽  
Information Operations ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Concept Of Information ◽  
International Conventions

Abstract: The nature of recent military conflicts, largely unconventional, essentially involves two common features related to the type of actors involved and the methods used. If regarding the first of these, one can observe that the tendency is of metamorphosis of conflicts towards the area where state actors are forced to confront malignant non-state actors, such as terrorists or insurgents, the second refers to the methods used in such confrontations, most of them having an unconventional character, which does not comply with international conventions or the laws and principles of armed conflict, methods that have, because of the unprecedented technological development, increased in number and intensity. In this context, military forces have tried to adapt their approach to conflicts, to adjust their force structures, types of operations, but also the related procedures to try to find an optimal response in countering such behaviors. Against this background, the concept of information operations has acquired an essential importance, the use of actions subsumed to it offering the possibility of military force to create effects in the psychological dimension by influencing the target audience, with immeasurably greater results than the classical approach, with effects only in physical dimension.

scholarly journals Civilian targeting in African conflicts: A poor actor’s game that spreads through space

2021 ◽  
pp. 002234332096115
Author(s):  
Piotr Lis ◽  
Michael Spagat ◽  
Uih Ran Lee
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Spatial Spillovers ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Broad Array ◽  
Conflict Duration ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Armed conflict actors frequently target civilian populations. Thus, an improved understanding of such behaviour could pave the way to reducing it. We use the Civilian Targeting Index (CTI) and a broad array of geo-referenced data to investigate the spatio-temporal and economic dynamics of civilian targeting by conflict actors in Africa. Two main insights are generated. First, the civilian targeting behaviour of African non-state conflict actors is strongly influenced by the behaviour of other proximate actors. In particular, non-state actors tend to increase their civilian targeting after nearby non-state actors have done so. Possible mechanisms to explain such spatial spillovers include emulation and retaliation. Second, a negative relationship between economic activity and civilian targeting exists and applies to both state and non-state actors. In addition, CTIs of non-state actors tend to increase with population density, the geographical spread of their conflict activity and conflict duration. State actors have higher average CTIs than non-state actors do, but the gap between the two actor types tends to close during long-duration conflicts.

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