Human Rights Obligations of Armed Groups

2019 ◽  
pp. 444-462
Author(s):  
Andreas Th Müller
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Potential Application ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
The Past ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
State Actors

One of the asymmetries faced by military missions in areas of limited statehood are diverging legal obligations of state and non-state actors, in particular in relation to human rights duties. From a perspective of states bound by human rights treaties, there is a certain danger that armed groups opposing them might abuse the obligations incumbent upon state actors. Against this perception, the potential application of human rights law to armed groups is not only relevant as a tool for protecting civilians but also from a reciprocity perspective in view of the fluidity of armed conflicts and with a view to convergence of standards. The chapter assesses how international law and international legal practice in relation to armed groups have evolved over the past decade. It takes stock of recent developments and analyses the degree to which human rights obligations apply to armed groups.

The Fallacy of Effective Human Rights Protection under Relevant Treaty Law when Armed Groups Commit Violations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tilman Rodenhäuser
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
International Human

Chapter 5 adds to the contemporary discourse on human rights obligations of non-state armed groups by showing that in many situations, there is a clear legal need for these obligations. This chapter first engages in the debate on whether and to what extent certain human rights treaties address armed groups directly. Second, it shows that under the law of state responsibility, states are generally not responsible for human rights violations committed by non-state entities. Third, it recalls that under international human rights law, states have an obligation to protect human rights against violations committed by armed groups. However, it argues that because this cannot be a strict obligation but is one that depends on states’ capacities and the particular circumstances, often this framework cannot adequately protect individuals against human rights violations by armed groups. The result is a legal and practical need for human rights obligations of non-state armed groups.

General Conclusion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tilman Rodenhäuser
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
The Past ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
State Actors

The book’s general conclusion summarizes the different thresholds of organization, power, or capacity required from armed groups as identified in the book’s three parts. It presents them in two concise and innovative tables. In a second step, the conclusion compares the different thresholds in order to identify similarities and differences. Comparing how the different fields of law have addressed armed groups over the past years and decades, and which challenges different fields have faced, the general conclusion also makes suggestions on how international law should further develop in order to better address the very different natures and capacities of armed groups. Moreover, it discusses how the conclusions drawn in this book might be relevant in the analysis of possible legal obligations of other non-state actors.

scholarly journals The legal protection of persons living under the control of non-State armed groups

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Tilman Rodenhäuser
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Rebel Governance

Abstract In recent non-international armed conflicts in countries such as the Central African Republic, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, various non-State armed groups (NSAGs) have exercised control over territory and people living therein. In many cases, and for a variety of reasons, NSAGs perform some form of governance in these territories, which can include the maintenance of order or the provision of justice, health care, or social services. The significance of such measures became particularly apparent when in 2020 not only governments but also armed groups took steps to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article examines key legal issues that arise in these contexts. First, it analyzes the extent to which international humanitarian law protects the life and dignity of persons living under the control of NSAGs, rebutting doubts as to whether this field of international law has a role in regulating what is sometimes called “rebel governance”. Second, it provides a brief overview of aspects of the lives of people in armed group-controlled territory that are addressed by international humanitarian law and aspects that instead fall into the realm of human rights law. Third, the article discusses whether and to what extent human rights law can be said to bind NSAGs as a matter of law and flags issues that need further attention in current and future debates.

Armed Groups and Customary International Human Rights Law

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine Fortin
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
International Human

Chapter 11 analyses arguments that armed groups are bound by human rights law by virtue of customary international law. In doing so, the chapter draws together theories that have been explored in Chapters 7 and 9 about the relevance of territory to the acquisition of legal obligations. The chapter starts by examining the debates about how customary international human rights law binding upon armed groups should be constituted, finding that it will be formed through State practice and opinio juris. It ends by examining different articulations of the theory that armed groups are bound by customary international law by accountability mechanisms, evaluating their credence and making suggestions for their improvement.

Protecting the past for the future: How does law protect tangible and intangible cultural heritage in armed conflict?

2015 ◽  
Vol 97 (900) ◽  
pp. 1253-1275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane Johannot-Gradis
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Intangible Cultural Heritage ◽  
The Past ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
The Law

AbstractIn war, individuals are vulnerable not only physically but also in terms of their cultural identity, and the obliteration of cultural heritage often becomes a central issue. This is particularly the case in armed conflicts with an ethnic, cultural or religious character. In some regions, cultural heritage consists more of monuments and objects; it is a “tangible” heritage, mostly protected by the law of armed conflict. Elsewhere, where structures are impermanent, cultural heritage is mainly expressed through orality, gestures, rituals, music and other forms of expression that individuals create using various media and instruments. Such heritage is mainly “intangible”. This essay aims to show that cultural heritage is both tangible and intangible, and that the law which protects such heritage is not limited to the law of armed conflict. Cultural heritage also benefits from the protection of other applicable instruments, such as human rights treaties and the UNESCO cultural heritage conventions.

scholarly journals Protection of Children Participating in Hostilities under International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law: Issues of Compliance by Non-State Actors

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-72
Author(s):  
Sana Taha Gondal ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Indirect Part

Children enjoy legal protection under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. In situations of armed conflict, children are granted not only general protection as civilians, but special protection as children. Several legal provisions exist in the Geneva Conventions and its Additional Protocols, along with the Convention on the Rights of Child and its Second Optional Protocol on Children in Armed Conflicts. However, despite the current legal framework providing protective rights to children, there are serious issues of compliance by non-state actors, particularly in reference to inducting and using child soldiers. This highlights several legal challenges to international humanitarian law vis a vis the diminished protection of children taking direct part in hostilities. This article discusses the current legal regime protecting children in armed conflict, who take direct and indirect part in hostilities. Thereafter, an analysis is made of situations of international and non-international armed conflicts and the difference in protections accorded to these children, respectively. Lastly, an analysis is made of the compliance mechanisms that may be developed for non-state actors under international humanitarian law to prevent recruitment of children for taking direct or indirect part in hostilities. The issues of compliance by non-state actors and possible responses to such challenges are also addressed.

Engaging with Armed Groups: A Human Rights Field Perspective from Nepal

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 601-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick Rawski
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Human ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Field Perspective

AbstractTheoretical uncertainty surrounding whether and to what extent non-state actors are obligated to abide by international human rights and humanitarian norms has impacted the policies and practices of human rights field presences, including those of the United Nations. The paper presents the case of Nepal, where international organizations have been forced by circumstance to engage with a range of non-state armed groups, to illustrate how current limitations of human rights law regarding non-state actors impact the work of human rights field monitors. Drawing upon the global administrative law paradigm, it argues for the development of a 'soft law' framework governing human rights aspects of international organizations' engagement with armed groups.

scholarly journals Which states parties should be held responsible for the implementation of positive obligations under the ECHR in sports-related disputes?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsubasa Shinohara
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
State Party ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
State Actors

AbstractIn sports society, awareness of human rights protection has gradually developed and sports governing bodies, such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Fédération Internationale de la Football Association (FIFA), have striven to commit the implementation of human rights guaranteed by internationally recognised human right treaties in the international community. However, human rights law cannot directly impose any legal obligations on sports governing bodies because they are non-state actors established by domestic private law. In this situation, how can international human rights law apply to the private relationship between non-state actors? According to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), state parties must implement positive obligations to protect individuals against any violations caused by non-state actors within the jurisdiction. To implement the positive obligations under the ECHR, it is necessary to identify which state parties should be held responsible for the implementation in sports-related disputes because, in Mutu and Pechstein v. Switzerland, athletes claimed a violation of the ECHR against Switzerland on the ground that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is located in Lausanne, Switzerland. However, it should be considered that Switzerland is not be liable for all violations of the ECHR’s rights caused by another state party. In light of this, the purpose of this article is to identify a hypothetical standard for determining which state parties should be held responsible for implementing the positive obligations under the ECHR.

Latin American Amnesties in Comparative Perspective: Can the Past Be Buried?

1999 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 99-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Popkin ◽  
Nehal Bhuta
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Status ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Comparative Examination

Throughout Latin America during the past 15 years, new democratic or postwar governments have faced demands for transitional justice following the end of authoritarian rule or the conclusion of internal armed conflicts.Demands for justice for serious past abuses have often been met by threats of destabilization by the perpetrators and calls for forgiving and forgetting in the name of reconciliation.Although recent developments in and interpretations of international law oblige states to punish those responsible for serious human rights violations, many transitional governments insist that reconciliation requires broad amnesty laws. This essay first reviews basic legal and conceptual issues relating to prosecution of, and grants of amnesty to, those responsible for gross human rights abuses during earlier periods. A comparative examination follows, starting with El Salvador, where the amnesty law constitutes the most comprehensive and successful action to end efforts to address past abuses. The essay then reviews the status of efforts in Argentina, Chile, Honduras, Guatemala, and South Africa, where, despite amnesty laws, civil society and courts have sought to uncover the truth about the past, hold perpetrators accountable, and obtain redress for victims.

Returning the ‘Fallen Terrorist’ for Burial in Non-international Armed Conflicts

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-370
Author(s):  
Frédéric Mégret ◽  
Chloe Swinden
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
European Court ◽  
International Human ◽  
Russian Law

Although the regime applicable to the return of remains of combatants in international armed conflict is well known, the regime applicable in non-international armed conflicts is less clear. This is particularly the case when the members of armed groups are deemed to be ‘terrorists’ by the State which then refuses to return them to their families. The article examines how a Russian law to that effect has been examined and found wanting by the European Court of Human Rights. It suggests that the return of remains following non-international armed conflicts raises characteristic issues for the debate on the simultaneous and competing applicability of international humanitarian and international human rights law.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document