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Who May be Lawfully Targeted in Non-International Armed Conflicts? - A Legal Analysis of the Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities

Sjödahl, Sofia LU (2019) LAGF03 20192
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
The regulations applicable in non-international armed conflicts, Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions I-IV and Additional Protocol II, offer protection to civilians who do not directly participate in the hostilities. There is no commonly accepted definition of direct participation in hostilities in treaty-based international humanitarian law, State practice or international jurisprudence.

This thesis focuses on examining how the notion of direct participation in hostilities is interpreted by looking at various views of the notion. The thesis also examines the consequences of these different views. The International Committee of the Red Cross, whose humanitarian mission is to protect and help people affected by armed conflict,... (More)
The regulations applicable in non-international armed conflicts, Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions I-IV and Additional Protocol II, offer protection to civilians who do not directly participate in the hostilities. There is no commonly accepted definition of direct participation in hostilities in treaty-based international humanitarian law, State practice or international jurisprudence.

This thesis focuses on examining how the notion of direct participation in hostilities is interpreted by looking at various views of the notion. The thesis also examines the consequences of these different views. The International Committee of the Red Cross, whose humanitarian mission is to protect and help people affected by armed conflict, have issued a detailed interpretative guidance with their interpretation of the notion, which is examined and presented in the thesis. Since their guidance has faced wide criticism, the thesis also presents criticism from Michael N. Schmitt, who participated in the project resulting in the guidance but withdrew his name upon reviewing the final draft since he did not support its findings.

Conclusively, the thesis shows that the notion of direct participation in hostilities is ambiguous. The ambiguity has consequences for all actors in international law, both individuals, States and organizations. The absence of a commonly accepted interpretation opens up the possibility for States and organized armed groups to unilaterally interpret the notion and such interpretations are often not made public. This is problematic since low predictability and lack of transparency is never desirable regarding legal problems. Further, the thesis shows that the interpretation of the notion by the International Committee of the Red Cross can be abused by the parties to an armed conflict. Finally, their interpretation stands a risk to not balance the military necessity against humanitarian concerns well enough. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Enligt regelverken tillämpliga i icke-internationella väpnade konflikter, gemensamma artikeln 3 i Genèvekonventionerna samt tilläggsprotokoll 2, erbjuds skydd till civila som inte direkt deltar i strid. En gemensam definition av vad som anses vara direkt deltagande i strid existerar inte i tillämpliga traktat i den internationella humanitära rätten och inte heller förser nationell eller internationell praxis någon tydlig tolkning av begreppet.

Uppsatsen fokuserar på att utreda vad begreppet direkt deltagande i strid innebär genom att titta på olika tolkningar av begreppet samt utreda möjliga konsekvenser av dessa tolkningar. Internationella rödakorskommittén, vars humanitära uppgift är att skydda och hjälpa människor som drabbas av... (More)
Enligt regelverken tillämpliga i icke-internationella väpnade konflikter, gemensamma artikeln 3 i Genèvekonventionerna samt tilläggsprotokoll 2, erbjuds skydd till civila som inte direkt deltar i strid. En gemensam definition av vad som anses vara direkt deltagande i strid existerar inte i tillämpliga traktat i den internationella humanitära rätten och inte heller förser nationell eller internationell praxis någon tydlig tolkning av begreppet.

Uppsatsen fokuserar på att utreda vad begreppet direkt deltagande i strid innebär genom att titta på olika tolkningar av begreppet samt utreda möjliga konsekvenser av dessa tolkningar. Internationella rödakorskommittén, vars humanitära uppgift är att skydda och hjälpa människor som drabbas av väpnade konflikter, har utfärdat en detaljrik vägledning, genom deras tolkning av begreppet direkt deltagande i strid, som undersöks och presenteras i uppsatsen. Då flera invändningar har riktats mot deras tolkning presenteras även kritik framförd av Michael N. Schmitt, som deltog i framtagandet av guiden men som strök sitt namn innan den sista utgåvan då han inte stod bakom tolkningen.

Sammantaget visar utredningen att begreppet direkt deltagande i strid är tvetydigt och att det inte finns en allmänt accepterad tolkning. Detta får konsekvenser för alla aktörer inom folkrätten, både individer, stater och organisationer. Det öppnas en möjlighet för både stater och aktiva väpnade grupper i konflikter att ensidigt tolka begreppet och dessa tolkningar redovisas sällan för allmänheten. Ur ett rättssäkerhetsperspektiv är detta problematiskt, då låg förutsebarheten aldrig är önskvärt i juridiska spörsmål. Vidare visar utredningen att Internationella rödakorskommitténs tolkning av begreppet i många fall kan missbrukas av parter i väpnade konflikter samt att deras tolkning riskerar att inte ge en väl avvägd balans mellan militär nödvändighet och humanitära problem. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Sjödahl, Sofia LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20192
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
public international law, the notion of direct participation in hostilities
language
English
id
8999817
date added to LUP
2020-04-05 13:21:13
date last changed
2020-04-05 13:21:13
@misc{8999817,
  abstract     = {{The regulations applicable in non-international armed conflicts, Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions I-IV and Additional Protocol II, offer protection to civilians who do not directly participate in the hostilities. There is no commonly accepted definition of direct participation in hostilities in treaty-based international humanitarian law, State practice or international jurisprudence. 

This thesis focuses on examining how the notion of direct participation in hostilities is interpreted by looking at various views of the notion. The thesis also examines the consequences of these different views. The International Committee of the Red Cross, whose humanitarian mission is to protect and help people affected by armed conflict, have issued a detailed interpretative guidance with their interpretation of the notion, which is examined and presented in the thesis. Since their guidance has faced wide criticism, the thesis also presents criticism from Michael N. Schmitt, who participated in the project resulting in the guidance but withdrew his name upon reviewing the final draft since he did not support its findings. 

Conclusively, the thesis shows that the notion of direct participation in hostilities is ambiguous. The ambiguity has consequences for all actors in international law, both individuals, States and organizations. The absence of a commonly accepted interpretation opens up the possibility for States and organized armed groups to unilaterally interpret the notion and such interpretations are often not made public. This is problematic since low predictability and lack of transparency is never desirable regarding legal problems. Further, the thesis shows that the interpretation of the notion by the International Committee of the Red Cross can be abused by the parties to an armed conflict. Finally, their interpretation stands a risk to not balance the military necessity against humanitarian concerns well enough.}},
  author       = {{Sjödahl, Sofia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Who May be Lawfully Targeted in Non-International Armed Conflicts? - A Legal Analysis of the Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}