THE ROOTS OF RESTRAINT IN WAR REFERENCE This report is based on research carried out by independent researchers commissioned by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to advance the organization’s understanding of the workings of armed forces and armed groups. It does not include information that was obtained in a confidential manner during ICRC operational activities. The icons used in Chapter 6 of this publication have been taken from the OCHA Icons Library, adapted for use by the ICRC, and icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com THE ROOTS OF RESTRAINT IN WAR THE ROOTS OF RESTRAINT IN WAR 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This publication was written by Fiona Terry and Brian McQuinn based on empirical research led by Andrew Bell, Francisco Gutiérrez Sanín, Yvan Guichaoua, Ferdaous Bouhlel, Oliver Kaplan and Naomi Pendle. Benjamin Eckstein, Brian McQuinn and Fiona Terry coordinated the field research. The project was overseen by a steering committee at the ICRC chaired by Helen Durham, ICRC director of law and policy. The committee comprised: Knut Dörmann, Michael Dynes, Luigi Fratini, Pierre Gentile, Irénée Herbet, Dorothea Krimitsas and Hugo Slim. Research protocols were approved by an ethical review board composed of Gilles Carbonnier, Claudia Seymour and Hugo Slim. Ethical clearance for the survey of Australian soldiers was provided by the Australian Department of Defence and Veterans’ Affairs Human Research Ethics Committee. Special thanks go to Lieutenant General Angus Campbell for approving the research. We are grateful to the following people for their help, input and inspiration: Elisabeth Jean Wood, Helen Kinsella, Eva Svoboda, Lindsey Cameron, Olivier Bangerter, Tina Bouffet, Sarah Grey, Sarah Gale, Kevin Meister, Kars Aznavour, Erica Potts, Paul Baker, Pete Evans, Frederico Almendra, Ken Hume, Evecar Cruz-Ferrer, Pascal Porchet, Leonard Blazeby, Stephanie Riddell, Natalya Wells, Christoph Luedi, Christoph Harnisch, François Stamm, Béatrice Oechsli, Dorsa Nazemi-Salman, Ahmed Al-Dawoody, Jean-Nicolas Marti, Abbas Daiyar, Ihcène Kiamouche, Nicole Van Rooi- jen, AZM, Sarah Roxas, Nicole Martins-Maag, Vincent Bernard, Thomas Saint-Maurice, Antoine Grand, Christina Grisewood, Cordula Droege and all the others who supported the project along the way. In addition, we would like to thank the UK Department for International Development for its contribution to funding this study. 4 THE ROOTS OF RESTRAINT IN WAR A. Hofford/EPA A. THE ROOTS OF RESTRAINT IN WAR 5 CONTENTS Foreword ................................................................................................................ 6 Executive summary ................................................................................................ 8 Introduction ...........................................................................................................11 Chapter 1: Norms of restraint, organizational structure and socialization ............. 17 Chapter 2: Integrated State armed forces ...............................................................27 Chapter 3: Centralized non-State armed groups .................................................... 37 Chapter 4: Decentralized non-State armed groups ...............................................45 Chapter 5: Community-embedded armed groups ..................................................53 Chapter 6: Implications and approaches ................................................................63 Further reading .....................................................................................................72 6 THE ROOTS OF RESTRAINT IN WAR FOREWORD It is a pleasure to introduce this new study on restraint in war. It is the fruit of an interdis- ciplinary, cross-sector partnership between the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and distinguished scholars from around the world. For us, it marks an important step forward in understanding the sources of influence on soldiers and fighters when it comes to respect for the principles and norms of international humanitarian law (IHL). As the title suggests, the study aims to better identify the roots of restraint – the factors that induce weapon bearers across the spectrum to observe certain limits when engaging in armed violence and to preserve a minimum of humanity even in the heat of battle. The researchers’ insights into the culture and practices of two State mili- taries and several types of non-State armed group reveal various political, ethical and socio-economic reasons why different parties to conflict behave as they do. The key is socialization – the process by which norms and rules become socially accepted and then fulfilled on the battlefield. The ICRC has a long history of working with State armed forces and non-State armed groups in a constant effort to foster respect for the rules of war at the strategic, oper- ational and tactical levels. To this end, we work with senior commanders, policy- makers and front-line fighters across the world to promote the integration of humanitarian norms and IHL into their training and decision-making. Accordingly, the ICRC’s approach has traditionally relied on established systems of command and control, so that IHL is valued and respected throughout the chain of command, and every fighting unit has a basic knowledge of the legal norms. This goes some way towards socializing those norms, but not the whole way. The study shows that we can do better by understanding how a culture of restraint is socialized, not only formally and vertically, from the top down, but also informally and horizontally. It opens up new avenues for ensuring that the basic principles of IHL are embedded in the DNA of all members of armed forces and armed groups. Today’s conflicts are characterized by a plethora of armed actors with differing goals and ideologies. There is also a growing tendency for conflicts to be fought in coalitions, with a number of States joining forces or State militaries partnering with non-State armed groups to achieve a given, shared purpose. This makes it all the more import- ant that we gain a better idea of the many and varied ways in which these forces inculcate respect for humanitarian norms, and thus restraint, in their members, and what external influences there may be. By improving our understanding of these pro- cesses and influences, we can work more effectively with all parties to armed conflict to ensure civilians, detainees, wounded people and others protected by the rules of war are treated humanely in accordance with IHL. THE ROOTS OF RESTRAINT IN WAR 7 I thank everyone involved in the research, coordination and funding of the various studies. I commend their important findings to all those who are committed to bringing about greater restraint in the exercise of armed violence. The novel insights from this research are of direct relevance to the ICRC and military authorities. They will help us further strengthen the “roots of restraint” and thus, we hope, make a greater impact on the conduct of many of today’s protracted armed conflicts. Professor Gilles Carbonnier Vice-President International Committee of the Red Cross 8 THE ROOTS OF RESTRAINT IN WAR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY As the reference organization on international humanitarian law (IHL), the Inter- national Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) seeks to ensure that the rules and norms aimed at restraining the destructive forces of armed conflict are known and respected by soldiers and fighters around the world. This report is a contribution to that endeavour. The report, based on two years of research by a group of distinguished scholars, sets out to identify the various sources of influence on the behaviour of those bearing arms in different types of armed forces and armed groups. To date, the bulk of the ICRC’s work in this domain has centred on State armed forces and on ensuring that IHL is incorporated into their doctrine and directives, into the regular training of soldiers and into the disciplinary mechanisms designed to enforce compliance with the rules. As such, it has focused predominantly on the formal norms prescribed by IHL. The ICRC has also engaged with many non-State armed groups, encouraging them to adopt codes of conduct to align the behaviour of their fighters with the norms of IHL. But the nature of armed conflict has changed over the last decade, particularly in the proliferation of non-State armed groups that do not have a central hierarchical struc- ture through which to transmit, and train members in, the rules of IHL. This has neces- sitated new research into how both formal and informal norms condition behaviour in the wide array of armed groups encountered in the ICRC’s work, and how ICRC staff might promote restraint within their ranks. This report draws on a rich body of empirical studies seeking to explain armed-group behaviour. Two constants stand out: first, there is considerable variation in the patterns of violence and restraint between and within armed organizations, and in the beliefs, mechanisms, resources and people that influence their behaviour; second, those vari- ations may also change over time. Therefore, rather than formulating new directives for the ICRC to adopt in its dealings with armed forces and armed groups, the report offers a framework of analysis to assist its staff in situating armed groups on a spectrum according to their organizational structure. It further explains how the transmission and adoption of norms might occur in these groups depending on where they fall on the