Laura Inigo Alvarez’s book ‘Towards a Regime of Responsibility of Armed Groups in International Law‘ emerges out of the observation that while there has been significant focus in recent years on the primary obligations of armed groups, there remains quite a degree of uncertainty regarding the secondary rules by which actions can be attributed to …
The present blog post is based on comments made at the launch of Laura Inigo Alvarez’s book, Towards a Regime of Responsibility of Armed Groups in International Law, organized by ALMA. Dr Alvarez’s book is a timely and valuable contribution to the analytical framework for considering the responsibility of organised armed groups (OAGs). All too …
Book symposium – Reflections on the Responsibility of Armed Groups Read More »
Following the online launch of the book Towards a Regime of Responsibility of Armed Groups in International Law organised by ALMA, this blog is hosting a mini-symposium with the panellists that took part in the event. I would like to thank Katharine Fortin, Ezequiel Heffes and Emanuela-Chiara Gillard for their insightful comments and reflections. In …
As we scramble to understand how international law governs the COVID-19 crisis, it has been rightfully said that it is important not to forget the hundreds of thousands of people who are living in territories controlled by armed groups. Although international humanitarian law will undoubtedly protect the people living in these territories, some of the …
The 2019 ICRC so called ‘Challenges Report’ has identified the ‘proliferation of non?State armed groups’ (NSAG) as being a central feature of ‘the changing geopolitical landscape of the last decade’. It is undeniable that the existence of a multiplicity of NSAG in a given context creates serious challenges for humanitarian and aid organisations, not only …
The ICRC’s 2019 report on International Humanitarian Law on Challenges of Contemporary Armed Conflicts identifies the protection of persons living in territory under the control of armed groups as one of the main practical and legal challenges facing IHL, the ICRC and the broader international community today (pp.52-54). These challenges arise inter alia from the …
The title of this post is intentionally provocative and of course the answer is no: not all aspects of life during war revolve around war. In rebel territory, as in state-controlled territory, common criminality persists, traffic accidents occur and people have needs that are unrelated to the conflict. This raises the question of how ordinary …
Concomitant to the many contemporary non-international armed conflicts and the multiplication of non-State armed groups, a significant number of armed groups exercise de facto control over territory and persons living therein. Such control may take various forms. In some contexts, armed groups exercise military control over territory while State organs continue to be present and …
There are currently some 100 armed conflicts around the world, most of which are non-international in nature, involving one or more non-State armed groups (NSAG). In the course of such conflicts, armed groups frequently gain control over territory and the populations living therein. At times NSAG control is short-lived; at other times it may be …