Other Documents and Studies
Documents are grouped by year of publication and listed alphabetically. The views expressed in the documents and reference materials provided below are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Geneva Call. Copyright remains with the authors. Texts for consideration, in English, Spanish or in French, should be sent in electronic format (Word or PDF) by email to: info@genevacall.org
Small Arms Survey, Edition 2010: Gangs, Groups, and Guns.
Chapter 12: Options for Engagement: Armed Groups and Humanitarian Norms, by Nicolas Florquin et Pascal Bongard.
Summary: [English] [French] [Arabic] [Spanish]
For more information, please contact: info@genevacall.org
Non-State Actors and the Arms Trade Treaty initiative: challenges and opportunities.
By UNIDIR - 25 November 2009.
From Geneva to Sri Lanka, the ISN issues a study on the challenges to IHL today.
By Georg-Sebastian Holzer for ISN Security Watch - 12 August 2009. Georg-Sebastian Holzer at ISN Security Watch has issued a study on the changing nature of warfare and the role of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. "Today, the bulk of all conflicts are of an intra-State nature, often between State and non-State actors. (...) the concept of restraining one’s own forces does not only apply to armies of States but also to non-State groups. The Taliban code of conduct is a prominent case in point. In its work, the ICRC actually builds on such existing codes of conducts to disseminate the basic principles of the IHL. Today, Geneva Call, an international humanitarian organization, is particularly dedicated in engaging armed non-State actors to respect and to adhere to humanitarian norms".
The International Peace Institute has issued a report Beyond Market Forces: Regulating the Global Security Industry, which draws inter alia on Geneva Call's successful experience in engaging NSAs on humanitarian norms. "Geneva Call’s success as a watchdog stems in part from the NGO’s reliance on highly legitimate standards (the norms found in the 1997 Ottawa Treaty banning antipersonnel mines), and in part from the tolerance - and even support - of governmental actors. However, Geneva Call’s success also stems in part from its own credibility as an honest broker working with a wide range of stakeholders." (page 69).
International Peace Institute - Published in 2009.
Engaging Armed Non-State Actors with International Humanitarian Law.
Published by Professor Marco Sassòli in the Canadian Human Security Bulletin in February 2008, Vol 6, Issue 2, the article demonstrates how in a conflict “each Party shall be bound” by International Humanitarian Law (IHL). All initiatives, such as the inclusive approach adopted by Geneva Call to engage non-State actors to respect IHL, should be supported.
La définition du terrorisme et le droit international humanitaire.
Published by Professor Marco Sassòli in the "Revue québécoise de droit international (hors série)" in 2007 with the collaboration of Lindy Rouillard and as a tribute to Katia Boustany, the article tries to elaborate a definition of the notion of “terrorism” that would be strictly juridical and not – as it is too often the case nowadays – influenced by political issues. In that respect Professor Sassòli makes a revue of the rules already codifying acts of terrorism in international humanitarian law and international criminal law. This should be useful to draft a definition of terrorism enforceable in times of war and peace.
Mine Action and Armed Non-State Actors.
The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs organized jointly with Geneva Call a side event in the margins of the 7^th Meeting of State Parties (MSP) to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) on mine action and armed non-state actors (ANSAs), in particular on the implementation of Action 46 of the Nairobi Action Plan. The Swiss delegation presented a Non Paper on implementing Action 46 of the Nairobi Action Plan.
Human Rights Obligations of Non-State Actors.
Oxford University Press 2006 by Andrew Clapham [Except from Chapter 7].
Armed and Aimless: Armed Groups, Guns, and Human Security in the ECOWAS Region. Edited by Nicolas Florquin and Eric G. Berman, May 2005. The book provides detailed information on more than 35 armed groups which have been active in West Africa since 1998, and explores important related themes through 6 field-based case study chapters.
Engaging Non-State Armed Groups in Humanitarian Action. State Actor and Non-Governmental Approaches. August 2004 by Claudia Hofmann. German Development Institute.
Summary of findings: From war to peace, lessons learned from achievements and failures in peace agreements over the past decade, a strategy for peace process optimization. August 2004. Foreword by Dr. Oscar Arias. This summary contains descriptive overviews of Peace Processes for intra-State conflicts in Cambodia, Georgia/Abkhazia, Guatemala, Mindanao (Philippines), Mozambique, Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan. The summary also contains an introduction and a conclusion which evaluates the impact of the 11th September event on Peace Building, an appendix. To order complete report.
Armed non-State actors and the ban on anti-personnel mines.
The Journal of Humanitarian Assistance (2003). This paper examines the efficacy of the Ottawa treaty as an instrument of arms control.
Child soldiers and armed groups.
Jo Becker, Human Rights Watch (2003). Heightened attention to the issue of child soldiers has prompted a growing number of armed groups to make public commitments to end their use of children. In some cases, such commitments have led to actual demobilizations of child soldiers, but more commonly, the groups concerned continue to recruit and use children.
Improving compliance with international humanitarian law, ICRC Expert Seminars (2003). The primary objective of the seminar series was to engage experts in international humanitarian in a creative and forward-thinking discussion of ways in which the States' obligation to "ensure respect" for international humanitarian law, might be operationalized. An emphasis was also placed on the specific problem of ensuring a better compliance with international humanitarian law by parties to noninternational armed conflicts.
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