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Engaging with Armed Non-State Actors in the Broader Middle East on the Protection of Civilians

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Engaging with Armed Non-State Actors in the Broader Middle East on the Protection of Civilians Engaging with Armed non-State Actors in the Broader Middle East on the Protection of Civilians Broumana, Lebanon 30-31 March 2012 CONFERENCE REPORT This conference was made possible through the support of the Foundation for the Future and the Open Society Institute. The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of the Permanent Peace Movement and Geneva Call and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation for the Future nor those of the Open Society Institute. The report expresses the discussions and exchange of views that took place during the conference and does not imply that these are the views or policies of the organizers. Photos: IRIN News www.irinnews.org, Mine Detection Center (Afghanistan) and Geneva Call. Cover photo: Girl in Mazrak IDP camp, Yemen. 2 Contents Conference Background 4 The Existing Legal Framework Protecting Civilian Populations: Slow Adaptation to Contemporary Warfare 5 The Perception Issue: Building Trust and Confidence with ANSAs to Ensure Humanitarian Engagement 6 a. Mistrust and Misperception towards Humanitarian Missions 6 b. Instrumentalization of Humanitarian Aid 7 c. Legal considerations: Overcoming legal obstacles to engaging with ANSAs 8 Mechanisms and Strategies for Engaging ANSAs: Putting Humanitarian Norms First 9 a. Direct Engagement: Humanitarian Negotiations 9 b. Indirect Engagement: Mediation Strategies and Backstage Negotiations 12 Conference Recommendations 13 About the organizers 14 APPENDIX I – Conference Agenda 16 APPENDIX II – Participants List 19 3 Conference Background Given the growing importance of ANSAs as actors in many conflicts, focus on the respect and Armed conflicts continue across much of the Middle implementation of IHL and IHRL norms has shifted East today. As in most on-going conflicts around the from being a task solely applicable to States and world, armed non-State actors (ANSAs) are fighting regular State armies sworn to the respect of the Government forces or other ANSAs. This is the case Geneva Conventions, to one that includes ANSAs. in a number of Middle Eastern states, including In the sense that ANSAs cannot conventionally Afghanistan, Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq. In the past year be bound to international legal frameworks, alone, new conflicts have emerged in Libya and Syria. engaging ANSAs on IHL and IHRL norms is crucial in assisting those in greatest need of protection. As The quantitative research that exists on the subject explained by Elisabeth Decrey Warner, President of ANSAs in the region is, at best, insufficient. Whilst of Geneva Call, co-organizer of the Conference: “it the broader region is home to armed groups of has become clear that efforts to assist and protect some significance, little effort has been made to victims of armed conflict, particularly civilian comprehensively address engagement with them in populations, must address not only the behaviour regards to their responsibilities under international of States, but also that of armed non-State actors”. law. Worldwide, numerous precedents exist to show that engagement with ANSAs on their international In the broader Middle East region, ANSAs operating obligations under International Humanitarian Law in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq, Occupied Palestinian (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL) has Territories, and Yemen have played key roles been successfully undertaken. Such engagement has in internal conflicts as well as in international been largely carried out through complementary conflicts. ANSAs have more recently emerged approaches by organizations such as the International in conflicts in Libya and in Syria. Additionally, Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Geneva Call. ANSAs often assume a political role within States, sometimes taking charge of de facto governmental IHL provides no political legitimacy to belligerent functions within the territories they control. parties. It aims to limit the humanitarian impact of armed conflict, primarily by protecting those who This Conference was a step towards the goal of do not, or no longer, participate in hostilities. IHL gathering and sharing the views of experts on these also provides protection for those actively engaged issues . Participants included leading specialists in the conflict. This is achieved, for instance, and humanitarian workers involved in the region through the prohibition of the use of certain . The conference gave practitioners and experts weapons. It does not justify the reasons behind the opportunity to exchange views, and develop a the military activities of parties to the conflict. common understanding of the regional situation. Participants sought to establish a coherent approach As noted by the President of the Permanent to humanitarian engagement of ANSAs and explored Peace Movement, co-organizer of the Conference, possibilities to improve collaboration between Fadi Abi Allam, “60 conflicts or so have erupted regional ANSAs and humanitarian actors. Based on since the Second World War and 90% of the the principle of working in complementarity towards victims in these wars are civilians”. The focus is a common objective, stakeholders present at the therefore on “protecting civilians, and especially conference gave accounts of their experiences in children and women”, according to Nabila Hamza, engaging ANSAs in the Middle East and in looking for President of the Foundation for the Future, one new ways to improve the compliance of ANSAs with of the donors supporting the Conference. The their humanitarian and human rights obligations. prevalence of conflicts in the region involving ANSAs creates additional challenges, as compared The conference was held under Chatham House to traditional inter-State conflicts, for the rules. Speakers and presenters quoted here have protection of the civilian population, the safety of given permission for their names to be used. humanitarian workers and humanitarian access. --------------- 1- ‘Middle East’ is used in the broad geographical sense. For the purposes of this Conference, the term Broader Middle East refers to Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. 2- See the conference programme in Appendix I. 3- See list of experts participating in the conference in Appendix II. 4 The Existing Legal Similarly, the Koran instructs to protect prisoners Framework Protecting of war: Civilian Populations: A Slow Adaptation to “And they feed, for love of HIM, the poor, the orphan Contemporary Warfare and the prisoner” Al-Insan:8 In times of armed conflict, it is extremely difficult to fulfill the needs and ensure the protection of those who do not, or no longer, directly participate in The Hadith, literally “the speech”, are the hostilities. With each conflict come concerns that words of the Prophet, transmitted through his potential violations and crimes may be committed contemporaries, and are an important source by the different parties involved, and that the basic of law in Islam. One of the Hadith points to the rules of war may be disregarded. necessity of having minimum standards in place during battles and wars. Similar to the principle Humanitarian principles existed long before formal of proportionality in IHL regarding the means and IHL came into existence. Humanitarian obligations methods of combat, the following phrase from the in times of conflict were founded upon traditional Hadith places restrictions on the degree of violence religious and cultural values. in killing: Bettahar Boudjellal, Director of the Arab Center for “If you kill, be beneficent in killing, if you slaughter, be International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights beneficent in slaughtering” Education, stressed that the Koran protects the Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim right to life: Another Hadith prohibits the use of perfidy as does “Anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, IHL. or (and) to spread mischief in the land –it would be as if he killed all mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it “Verily a flag will raise for the betrayer (of truce) on the would be as if he saved the life of all mankind” Day of Judgment, it is said on it, this is the betrayal of Al-Ma’idah:32 so the son of so” Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim And in his speech to his army in 323 AD, 11th year of Hijrah, Abubakr, the first successor of the Prophet, Cultural and traditional values found in Islam and established the principle of war as follows: Christianity for example, and in the codes of Chivalry, and the Bushido ruling the behavior of Samurai “O people! Stand firm and I will advise you on ten warriors, have greatly contributed to disseminating important matters and be mindful of it from me: Don’t basic principles of humanity which are at the core cheat on me, don’t go beyond the limit, don’t betray, of contemporary IHL. There are some noticeable don’t torture severely and don’t kill young children, differences though, such as the interpretation of old aged and woman. Don’t cut nor scorch palm trees reciprocity in Shari’a as a divine right to retaliate and don’t cut fruit trees, don’t slaughter sheep, cattle against violations perpetrated by the other party. and camel except for meal purpose. You will pass on by people who devout themselves to synagogues so left Michel Veuthey, Vice-President of the International them and what they devoted for themselves and you Institute of Humanitarian Law in San Remo, sees will arrive to the people which they come to you with these rules as “islands of humanity, they guarantee vessels in it colorful foods, so if you desire to eat from it, remember Allah.” the survival of individuals, communities, the whole Speech to his army, 11th year of Hijrah, Abubakr of humanity”. The rules have been translated into instruments of contemporary international law, such as the 1907 Hague Regulations and the 1949 Geneva Conventions. In non-international armed conflicts, Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions, and the Second Additional Protocol --------------- 4- Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim.
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