THE WAR REPORT ARMED CONFLICTS IN 2018 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The War Report 2018 was supervised and edited by Dr Annyssa Bellal, Strategic Adviser on IHL and Senior Research Fellow at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (Geneva Academy). The different sections on selected armed conflicts were written by individual authors and copy-edited by Munizha Ahmad-Cooke. The War Report 2018 also builds on past editions since 2012. The Geneva Academy would like to thank the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAE) for its support to the Geneva Academy’s research on this issue. DISCLAIMERS This report is the work of the editor and authors. The views expressed in it do not necessarily reflect those of the Geneva Academy. The qualification of any situation of armed violence as an armed conflict under international law should not be read such as to trigger war clauses in insurance contracts and does not in any way affect the need for due diligence by any natural or legal person in their work in any of the situations referred to. Furthermore, facts, matters or opinions contained in the report are provided by the Geneva Academy without assuming responsibility to any user of the report who may rely on its contents in whole or in part. The designation of armed non-state actors, states or territories does not imply any judgement by the Geneva Academy regarding the legal status of such actors, states or territories, or their authorities and institutions, or the delimitation of their boundaries, or the status of any states or territories that border them. April 2019 ISBN: 978-2-9701003-9-3 © The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Alessandro Mario Amoroso INFORMATION is the author of the section on Mali. Alessandro is Security and Law Programme Officer at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). He previously worked as Associate at the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Paris. He ABOUT THE AUTHORS holds an LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights from the Ge- neva Academy and a law degree from the University of Naples Federico II. : ARMED CONFLICTS IN 2018 4 2018 IN ARMED CONFLICTS : Grazvydas Jasutis is the author of the sections on Georgia–Abkhazia, Crimea and the Donbass region INFORMATION ABOUT 5 THE AUTHORS ABOUT INFORMATION THE WAR REPORT: ARMED CONFLICTS IN 2016 4 2016 IN ARMED CONFLICTS REPORT: THE WAR (Ukraine). Grazvydas is a scholar and conflict management practitioner. He has, notably, worked in Georgia, Indonesia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Mali and Burkina Faso and conducted field research in North Caucasus, primarily in Chechnya, Dagestan, THE WAR REPORT THE WAR Ingushetia and North Ossetia–Alania. He specializes in the post-Soviet space and analyses the developments in the conflict and post-conflict zones from various per- spectives, including gender, human rights and terrorism. He is a Visiting Lecturer at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Jean Monnet University and Sciences Po Lyon. He wrote these articles during his time as Visiting Research Fellow at the Geneva Academy. Tadesse Kebebew is the author of the section on the conflict in Eritrea–Ethiopia. He is a Teaching Assistant at the Geneva Academy and a PhD student at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. He was a Lecturer and Research and Technology Interchange Director at Dire Dawa University, Ethiopia. His research focuses on the obligation to investigate serious violations of international human- itarian law and human rights law in peacekeeping operations. Giulia Marcucci is the author of the sections on the Central African Republic and the Democrat- ic Republic of the Congo. She is currently pursuing an LLM in International Hu- manitarian Law and Human Rights at the Geneva Academy. She holds a Master in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action from Sciences Po, Paris, with a regional focus on African studies. Previously, she worked as an intern at the International Criminal Court in The Hague and at the NGO No Peace Without Justice in Brussels. Laura Baron-Mendoza is the author of the section on Thailand. She is a Colombian lawyer specialized in conflict resolution and holds an LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law from the Geneva Academy. Since 2012, she has worked in legal research and policy-making processes regarding a variety of armed-violence contexts in the Americas including the Colombian non-international armed conflict. At present, she is involved in the implementation of the Havana peace agreement reached between the Colombian Government and the FARC-EP, work- : ARMED CONFLICTS IN 2018 6 2018 IN ARMED CONFLICTS : ing on socio-legal solutions to the main challenges posed by the reincorporation process and the escalation of the conflict with other armed non-state actors in Colombian territory. 7 THE AUTHORS ABOUT INFORMATION Liliana Muscarella THE WAR REPORT THE WAR is the author of the section on Brazil. She is a graduating Master’s student in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action at Sciences Po, Paris, where she has focused on in- ternational law and civilian protection in Latin America. She has previously worked with the United Nations and various NGOs in Washington, DC and Colombia. Marija Sulce is the author of the sections on South Sudan and Syria. Marija is pursuing a Master in International Security at Sciences Po, Paris, focusing on the interaction between security and human rights. She is currently working as a trainee at the Council of Europe Coordination and International Cooperation Division in Strasbourg. INTRODUCTION 15 CONTENTS PART I: SUMMARY 19 CONTENTS 9 CONTENTS 1. WHAT IS AN ARMED CONFLICT? 20 2. INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT 21 A. CRITERIA FOR THE EXISTENCE OF AN INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT 21 : ARMED CONFLICTS IN 2018 8 2018 IN ARMED CONFLICTS : B. THE GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE OF AN INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT 24 THE WAR REPORT: ARMED CONFLICTS IN 2016 8 2016 IN ARMED CONFLICTS REPORT: THE WAR C. SUMMARY IHL RULES GOVERNING INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT 24 D. SUMMARY IHL RULES GOVERNING A SITUATION OF BELLIGERENT OCCUPATION 25 E. WHEN DOES AN INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT END? 25 THE WAR REPORT THE WAR 3. NON-INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT 26 A. CRITERIA FOR THE EXISTENCE OF A NON-INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT 26 B. WHEN DOES A NON-INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT END? 28 C. THE GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE OF A NON-INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT 28 D. RULES APPLICABLE IN A NON-INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT 30 4. WHICH ARMED CONFLICTS OCCURRED IN 2018? 31 A. INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICTS IN 2018 31 B. NON-INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICTS IN 2018 32 PART 2: KEY DEVELOPMENTS OF SELECTED ARMED CONFLICTS IN 2018 36 SELECTED INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICTS 37 1. THE ERITREA-ETHIOPIA ARMED CONFLICT 37 A. HISTORY OF THE CONFLICT 37 1. Background 37 2. The Ethiopia-Eritrea War, 1998–2000 38 3. The Peace Process and the Final Algiers Agreement 39 a. The Organization of African Unity Framework Agreement and its Modalities 39 b. The Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities 41 c. The Algiers Agreement of December 2000 41 4. The Deployment of the Peacekeeping Operation 42 5. The Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) 44 6. The Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission (EECC) 47 7. Ethiopia’s Refusal to Withdraw Its Troops From Badme 49 B. PARTIES TO THE CONFLICT 50 B. MAIN ACTORS 78 C. KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN 2018 50 1. The Level of Organization of the Armed Actors 78 1. Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship, 9 July 2018 50 C. KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN 2018 80 2. The Ongoing Discussion Relating to Prisoners of War (POWs) 52 1. Activist’s Murder Highlights Overlooked Urban Violence 80 D. WAR CRIMES ALLEGATIONS, INVESTIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS 53 2. The Uptick in Violence and Army Powers Under Temer and Bolsonaro 80 11 CONTENTS D. WAR CRIMES ALLEGATIONS, INVESTIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS 81 2. THE ARMED CONFLICT BETWEEN GEORGIA AND RUSSIA IN ABKHAZIA: 2. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: SECTARIAN AND INTERCOMMUNAL 54 THE PREDOMINANCE OF IRRECONCILABLE POSITIONS : ARMED CONFLICTS IN 2018 10 2018 IN ARMED CONFLICTS : VIOLENCE CONTINUES 82 A. HISTORY OF THE CONFLICT 54 A. HISTORY OF THE CONFLICTS 82 1. The Georgian-Abkhaz Schism in the Early 1990s 56 B. PARTIES TO THE CONFLICTS 87 2. New Violence in 1998 and 2001 59 1. MINUSCA 87 59 3. The August 2008 War THE WAR REPORT THE WAR 2. Non-State Parties 87 4. The EU Six-Point Agreement and its Implications 60 a. The Coalition 87 B. PARTIES TO THE CONFLICT 62 b. Movement of Central African Liberators for Justice (MLCJ) 88 1. Georgian Armed Forces 62 c. Union for Peace in Central Africa (UPC) 88 2. Russian Armed Forces 62 d. Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation (3R) 89 3. Abkhaz Forces 62 e. Revolution and Justice (RJ) 89 C. KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN 2018 63 f. National Movement for the Liberation of the Central African Republic (MNLC) 89 D. WAR CRIMES ALLEGATIONS, INVESTIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS 64 g. Muslim Self-Defence Groups in Bangui 89 3. THE ARMED CONFLICT BETWEEN UKRAINE AND RUSSIA IN CRIMEA: h. Anti-Balaka Local Groups 89 i. National Coordination of the Ex-Anti-Balaka 89 BETWEEN ANNEXATION AND REUNIFICATION? 66 j. Democratic Front of the Central African People (FDPC) 90 A. HISTORY OF THE CONFLICT 66 C. KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN 2018 90 1. Crimea: Historical Facts 66 D. WAR CRIMES ALLEGATIONS, INVESTIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS 91 2. The Events in 2014 69 B. PARTIES TO THE CONFLICT 71 3. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: CONFLICTS 1. Russian Armed Forces 71 IN THE EASTERN REGIONS 93 2. Ukrainian Armed Forces 71 A. HISTORY OF THE CONFLICTS 93 3. Self-Defence Crimean Forces 71 B. PARTIES TO THE CONFLICTS 96 C.