Ezequiel Heffes

Ezequiel Heffes' research focuses on international law and non-State actors. He was the Director of Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict in New York. Ezequiel also worked for Geneva Call as a Senior Policy and Legal Advisor and for the ICRC in various operational positions in Colombia, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He holds a PhD from the University of Leiden, an LLM in IHL and Human Rights from the Geneva Academy, and a law degree from the University of Buenos Aires School of Law. He has widely published on different international law issues. Ezequiel is the author of Detention by Non-State Armed Groups under International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2022) and the co-editor of International Humanitarian Law and Non-State Actors. Debates, Law and Practice (Springer/Asser Press, 2020) and of Armed Groups and International Law. In the Shadowland of Legality and Illegality (Edward Elgar, 2023).

Beyond Compliance Symposium: Armed Groups without Armed Conflict – Reflecting on the Thresholds of Violence and Protection

This post forms part of phase two of the Beyond Compliance Symposium: How to Prevent Harm and Need in Conflict, hosted by the Armed Groups and International Law blog. The introductory post can be found here. The symposium invites reflection on the conceptualisation of negative everyday lived experiences of armed conflict, and legal and extra-legal …

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Al Hassan Symposium – International Human Rights Law, Nexus and Non-State Armed Groups: Still a Mystery

I. Introduction In June 2024, the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) delivered the Al Hassan decision, sparking discussions within the international legal scene. Some attention has indeed been given to the Chamber’s approach to the intensity required for a non-international armed conflict (NIAC) to exist (see here and here). The decision offers …

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Al Hassan Symposium – (Re) Introduction

In July of 2023, Articles of War and Armed Groups and International Law jointly launched a series of posts covering the forthcoming trial judgment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Prosecutor v. Al Hassan. The case addressed charges relating to acts by Ansar Dine and Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AD/AQMI) between 2012 and …

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Beyond Compliance Symposium: Armed Groups, Compliance and International Law. There is more than meets the eye

Editors’ note: This post forms part of the Beyond Compliance Symposium: How to Prevent Harm and Need in Conflict, featured across Articles of War and Armed Groups and International Law. The introductory post can be found here. The symposium invites reflection on the conceptualization of negative everyday lived experiences of armed conflict, and legal and extra-legal strategies that can effectively address …

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Beyond Compliance Symposium: Why and How to Go “Beyond the Law” to Address Negative Lived Experiences of Armed Conflict

Editors’ note: This post forms part of the Beyond Compliance Symposium: How to Prevent Harm and Need in Conflict, featured across Articles of War and Armed Groups and International Law from September 2024 onwards. The extended symposium invites reflection on the conceptualisation of negative everyday lived experiences of armed conflict, and legal and extra-legal strategies, including compliance and restraint, that …

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Rebellious Detention: Reflections on the ICRC Study on Detention by Non-State Armed Groups

In early April 2023, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) released a much-needed study on “Detention by Non-State Armed Groups: Obligations under International Humanitarian Law and Examples of How to Implement Them.” The focus of the study is the law and practice relating to detention by non-State armed groups (NSAGs). It explains the legal framework …

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Call for Papers – Conference on Religious Actors & Humanitarian Norms Compliance

The Generating Respect Project invites paper submissions for the conference Religious Actors & Humanitarian Norms Compliance in Armed Conflict: Roles, Influence, Engagement that will take place online between 8 and 10 December 2021. The conference will take stock of important developments relating to the engagement between humanitarians and religious actors aimed at generating greater respect for humanitarian norms in …

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Most Read Posts in 2020

Happy new year to our readers! We want to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful 2021 and thank you for reading the blog in 2020. Below is a list of the 5 posts that received the most views last year. We hope to have relevant discussions about armed groups and international law …

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Geneva Call Report: Conduct of Hostilities by Armed Non-State Actors

This week, Geneva Call published a new report on the Conduct of Hostilities by Armed Non-State Actors (ANSAs). The report emerges out of the third edition of the Garance Talks, which took place on February 2020, and focuses on the application of the rules of IHL governing this topic: distinction, proportionality and precaution. The 2020 …

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