Two Sides of the Combatant COIN: Untangling Direct Participation in Hostilites from Belligerent Status in Non-International Armed Conflicts

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey S. Corn ◽  
Chris Jenks
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Direct Participation ◽  
Two Sides

Is Formalism a Friend or Foe?

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 354-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn Jurgen Keeman
Keyword(s):  
Functional Approach ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
The Other ◽  
Direct Participation ◽  
Rules And Principles

Contemporary armed conflicts are known to blur the categories of civilians and combatants, leading to problems with the principle of distinction. These categories are the result of an essentially formalised IHL, and have become less accurate by being over- or under-inclusive. Although formalism is vital to IHL’s functioning, maintaining it in its present excessive strength perpetuates distinction problems. In numerous cases a functional inroad based on actual conduct has been introduced, for instance with the concept of direct participation in hostilities. This solution should be implemented across a wider spectrum. Where the two categories are difficult to tell apart, a functional approach for one category benefits the other. This article shows how this can be attained by using existing rules and principles of IHL, such as the concept of military objectives and the prohibition on terrorism, or newer rules.

The Definition of Civilians in Non-International Armed Conflicts

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Marquis Bissonnette
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Direct Participation ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Shed Light

This article analyzes the perceptions of armed groups regarding the concept of civilians in non-international armed conflicts, through their codes of conduct and other commitments. It intends to shed light on the implementation by these non-state actors of the very critical principle of distinction, the exact articulation of is hotly debated in non-international armed conflict. It thus presents the different approaches to the principle of distinction in non-international armed conflict: the specific-act approach, the membership approach, the functional non-privileged combatancy approach, and the direct participation in hostilities with extended temporal scope in light of the commitments and undertakings of various armed groups. It concludes with the findings made on the basis of the study of the commitments made by armed groups, underlying in particular the issues that remain problematic regarding the principle of distinction in non-international armed conflict, as well as the issues on which a consensus in conceivable.

scholarly journals Tabish Khair’s Just Another Jihadi Jane: Western Civilization and ‘War on Terror’ Versus Islamist Terrorism as the Two Sides of the Globalization Coin

Societies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Dolores Herrero
Keyword(s):  
War On Terror ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Western Civilization ◽  
Western World ◽  
The Past ◽  
Organized Violence ◽  
The World ◽  
Islamist Terrorism ◽  
Two Sides

Armed conflicts and violence have always been concomitant with human history but it is undeniable that our perception of them has undergone some disturbing evolution of late. Whereas in the past wars and organized violence were mainly regarded as being temporary, that is, originating in a number of reasons and tensions that might become eventually solved and confined to very specific zones on the world map, nowadays most people feel that nobody can escape the scourge of indiscriminate violence and this is mainly due to terrorism, in particular to that associated with Muslim fundamentalism. The aim of this paper will be to discuss the origins of this form of terrorism, together with its inextricable relationship with the so-called ‘civilized’ West, putting the emphasis on its more secular aspects and implications so as to show how Tabish Khair’s novel, Just Another Jihadi Jane denounces the effects that this conflict can have upon average people, all the more so if they happen to be Muslim women living in the western world.

High-Tech Civilians, Participation in Hostilities, and Criminal Liability

2019 ◽  
pp. 175-208
Author(s):  
Matthew T. King
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Criminal Liability ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Direct Participation ◽  
Military Forces ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
The Law

The challenge presented by civilians on, near, and affecting the battlefield is an enduring issue in the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC). At its core, the LOAC seeks to protect civilians from the dangers of hostilities. The challenge, then, involves adhering to this general respect and protection standard, while balancing the need to send forces (which may include civilian members) to prosecute armed conflicts (which may involve enemy civilian participants). As advancements in technology and a growing dependence on civilian expertise in armed conflict begin to blur the distinction between civilian activity and direct participation in hostilities, how will military forces ensure civilians are properly protected on the battlefield? At what point does civilian involvement in military operations become direct participation in the conflict?

Strengthening the Principle of Distinction?

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Hofmann
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Function ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Direct Part ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Direct Participation

The primary impetus for the Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities by the International Committee of the Red Cross was the need for an accepted understanding of the notion of ‘direct participation in hostilities’. The Interpretive Guidance recommends that in non-international armed conflicts organised armed groups consist only of persons whose continuous function for the groups involves taking direct part in hostilities. The objective of this article is to assess to what extent the ‘continuous combat function’ category strengthens the protection of civilians under the principle of distinction.

Peace Talks and Valid Spokespersons: Explaining the Onset of Negotiations in Southern Thailand

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-518
Author(s):  
Anders Engvall ◽  
Isak Svensson
Keyword(s):  
Peace Process ◽  
Political Context ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
The Political ◽  
Peace Negotiations ◽  
Peace Processes ◽  
Southern Thailand ◽  
Two Sides

Abstract There have been several attempts to find negotiated solutions to the armed conflicts in Southern Thailand. Yet, these attempts of accommodation and mediated peace negotiations were aborted without any concrete results, with the exception of a formal peace process being officially launched in 2013. What explains the readiness of the parties to the conflict to enter negotiations at this stage, but not at earlier attempts? We argue that the political context can help to explain why some negotiation attempts result in negotiations, whereas others do not. We analyze the factors behind the readiness of the two sides – the Thai state and the Patani separatist insurgency – to sit down for official peace negotiations, focusing on the presence of valid spokespersons, which is an understudied element of ‘ripeness’. This case demonstrates that the problem of finding valid spokespersons may be an obstacle for peace processes especially in religiously defined conflicts.

Characterization of defects in tabular silver halide grains

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 1046-1047
Author(s):  
C. Goessens ◽  
D. Schryvers ◽  
J. Van Landuyt ◽  
A. Verbeeck ◽  
R. De Keyzer
Keyword(s):  
Radiation Damage ◽  
Silver Halide ◽  
Chemical Characteristics ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Free Region ◽  
Central Defect ◽  
Crystallographic Defects ◽  
Physical And Chemical ◽  
Two Sides

Silver halide grains (AgX, X=Cl,Br,I) are commonly recognized as important entities in photographic applications. Depending on the preparation specifications one can grow cubic, octahedral, tabular a.o. morphologies, each with its own physical and chemical characteristics. In the present study crystallographic defects introduced by the mixing of 5-20% iodide in a growing AgBr tabular grain are investigated. X-ray diffractometry reveals the existence of a homogeneous Ag(Br1-xIx) region, expected to be formed around the AgBr kernel. In fig. 1 a two-beam BF image, taken at T≈100 K to diminish radiation damage, of a triangular tabular grain is presented, clearly showing defect contrast fringes along four of the six directions; the remaining two sides show similar contrast under relevant diffraction conditions. The width of the central defect free region corresponds with the pure AgBr kernel grown before the mixing with I. The thickness of a given grain lies between 0.15 and 0.3 μm: as indicated in fig. 2 triangular (resp. hexagonal) grains exhibit an uneven (resp. even) number of twin interfaces (i.e., between + and - twin variants) parallel with the (111) surfaces. The thickness of the grains and the existence of the twin variants was confirmed from CTEM images of perpendicular cuts.

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