scholarly journals ‘Caught in a vice’: traditional authorities trapped between a warring state, radical armed groups and clashing communities in Central Mali

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Kjeld Van Wieringen
Keyword(s):  
Armed Groups ◽  
Traditional Authorities

Northern Kenya

2019 ◽  
pp. 89-120
Author(s):  
Fletcher D. Cox
Keyword(s):  
Armed Groups ◽  
Civic Action ◽  
Civil Action ◽  
State Fragility ◽  
Northern Kenya ◽  
Protracted Conflict ◽  
Relational Networks ◽  
Traditional Authorities ◽  
The Cost

Chapter 4 presents a critical microlevel case study of civil action in an underanalyzed conflict in Northern Kenya—the Samburu-Turkana Range War. Evidence from the case indicates that civil and uncivil actions co-evolve and coexist. Community-based organizations (CBOs) and traditional authorities effectively use civic action to interrupt violence escalation. At the same time, civic action does not fully eliminate violence, but rather changes the qualities of it. Civil action provides platforms for the coordination of inter- and intragroup relationships, which helps to dampen the frequency of violence and the speed of escalation but also raises the cost of violence. It allows local armed groups to become better armed, better organized, and more capable of accessing detailed, covert information through local relational networks. Violence occurs less often and escalates less rapidly, but when it does occur, it is deadlier. Under conditions of state fragility, civil action plays an unintentional role in increasing militia mobilization and prolonging protracted conflict.

Forced displacement in Colombia: Magnitude and causes

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Maria Ibanez
Keyword(s):  
State Policy ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Illegal Drugs ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Forced Displacement ◽  
Humanitarian Crisis ◽  
Individual Basis ◽  
The Impact

The article describes the magnitude, geographical extent,  and causes of forced population displacements in Colombia. Forced migration in Colombia is a war strategy adopted by armed groups to strengthen territorial strongholds, weaken civilian support to the enemy, seize valuable lands, and produce and transport illegal drugs with ease. Forced displacement in Colombia today affects 3.5 million people. Equivalent to 7.8 percent of Colombia's population, and second worldwide only to Sudan, this shows the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis the country is facing. The phenomenon involves all of Colombia's territory and nearly 90 percent of the country's municipalities expel or receive population. In contrast to other countries, forced migration in Colombia is largely internal. Illegal armed groups are the main responsible parties, migration does not result in massive refugee streams but occurs on an individual basis, and the displaced population is dispersed throughout the territory and not focused in refugee camps. These characteristics pose unique challenges for crafting state policy that can effectively mitigate the impact of displacement.

Love and Jihad. Female Trajectories from North Caucasus to the Islamic State

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-151
Author(s):  
Denis Sokolov
Keyword(s):  
Muslim Women ◽  
Al Qaeda ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
The North ◽  
Caucasian Women

In the 2000s, Al-Qaeda, represented by the Caucasus Emirate, took over the first Chechen resistance, as well as local Islamist armed groups in Dagestan and other republics of the North Caucasus. However, a decade later, the Islamic State won the competition with Al-Qaeda, by including the involvement of women in its project. Hundreds of Russian-speaking Muslim women followed men to live by the rules of Islam. Some joined their husbands or children. Others travelled to the Islamic State in pursuit of love and romance with future husbands they had met on the internet. Based on exclusive interviews done with women detained in the Roj detention camp in the Kurdish territories in northeastern Syria near the Iraqi border, this article analyzes some of the trajectories that has pushed young North Caucasian women to the Syrian war theater in the name of love.

Evaluative Framework: Legal Personality under International Law

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine Fortin
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Historical Account ◽  
Legal Personality ◽  
International Legal Personality

This chapter presents and explains the evaluative framework that the study employs when analysing armed groups and legal personality. In doing so, the chapter provides a short historical account of the manner in which international legal personality has been understood and theorized and explains how the evaluative framework will be utilized in the subsequent chapters.

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.

scholarly journals Caught in the Crossfire: Challenges to Migrant Protection in the Yemeni and Libyan Conflicts

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 318-331
Author(s):  
Danielle Flanagan
Keyword(s):  
Legal Framework ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
Conflict Zones ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Stable Conditions ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Migration Pathways

In spite of the prevailing security dynamics in Yemen and Libya, both states continue to serve as areas of transit along some of the world’s largest mixed migration routes, leaving migrants caught in the crossfire of the two conflicts. This article examines the legal framework governing the protection of migrants in armed conflict under international humanitarian and human rights law. It also identifies two adverse incentives produced by the conflict situations that impede the exercise of these legal protections: (1) profits derived from migrant smuggling and trafficking, and (2) the use of migrants to support armed groups. In the absence of stable conditions in Yemen and Libya, individuals have little reason to respect international legal protections and discontinue migrant abuse connected with the lucrative businesses of smuggling and trafficking. The intractable nature of the two conflicts has also led to the strategic use of migrants as armed support, and more specifically as combatants, weapons transports, and human shields. Given these realities, the article outlines several recommendations to address the issue of migrant abuse in conflict. It recommends that states, particularly those neighboring Yemen and Libya, strengthen regular migration pathways to help reduce the number of migrants transiting through active conflict zones. It further advises that the international community increase the cost of noncompliance to international humanitarian law through the use of accountability mechanisms and through strategic measures, including grants of reciprocal respect to armed groups that observe protections accorded to migrants in conflict situations.

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