Comparing Experiences: Engaging States and Non-State Armed Groups on International Humanitarian Law
In: The Companion to International Humanitarian LawSearch for other papers by Andrew Carswell in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Jonathan Somer in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Abstract
The genesis of this contribution was a conversation between the authors when they were working respectively as point persons for training State armed forces with the ICRC (Andrew) and non-State armed forces with Geneva Call (Jonathan). When discussing the barriers to IHL compliance buy-in by each type of armed actor, Andrew mentioned that his audience regularly points the finger at non-State armed groups (NSAGs) as the principal perpetrators of IHL violations – to which Jonathan replied that his audience points the finger in precisely the opposite direction. With that revelation, a seed was planted to pursue the conversation. The opportunity to do so was presented when University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and the Canadian Red Cross hosted a 2017 IHL conference entitled Order in Chaos: the Evolution of Law Governing Armed Conflict. The discussion, upon which this contribution is based, was moderated by Carmen Cheung, Professor of Global Practice at the Munk School.