![]() ![]() In contrast to an international armed conflict, which opposes the armed forces of States, in a non-international armed conflict at least one of the two opposing sides is a non-State armed group. When does a situation of violence become a non-international armed conflict and why does the classification matter?Ī non-international (or "internal") armed conflict refers to a situation of violence involving protracted armed confrontations between government forces and one or more organized armed groups, or between such groups themselves, arising on the territory of a State. Kathleen Lawand, the outgoing head of the ICRC unit that counsels on the law applying in the armed conflicts and other situations of violence in which the ICRC conducts its humanitarian activities, responds to some recurring questions on the legal classification of non-international armed conflicts. What is a non-international armed conflict? This characterization enables the ICRC to remind the parties to the conflict of their legal obligations.Įxamples of recent non-international armed conflicts include the hostilities that broke out in northern Mali in early 2012 between armed groups and the Malian armed forces, and the fighting in Syria between armed groups and Syrian government forces. ![]() When collective violence erupts in a country, the ICRC uses well-established legal criteria to assess whether or not that violence is characterized as an armed conflict. This body of law aims to limit the methods and means of warfare, and to protect people who are not, or no longer, taking part in the hostilities. In a non-international armed conflict – or internal conflict – international humanitarian law applies. At what point does violence become an armed conflict? What difference does it make to those involved in or affected by that violence? The distinction matters because how the situation is characterized will determine what law is applicable. ![]()
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