Source: https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/un-secretary-generals-reports-protection-civilians-armed-conflict
Timestamp: 2019-01-17 20:02:33
Document Index: 12978944

Matched Legal Cases: ['Art. 3', 'Art. 3', 'Art. 3', 'Art. 96', 'Arts 19', 'Arts 22', 'Arts 18', 'Arts 12', 'Arts 9', 'Art. 54', 'Art. 14', 'Arts 23', 'Arts 70', 'Art. 4', 'Arts 52', 'Art. 12', 'Art. 12', 'Arts 14', 'Arts 14', 'Arts 70', 'Arts 4', 'Art. 6']

UN, Secretary-General’s Reports on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict | How does law protect in war? - Online casebook
[Source: United Nations, S/2001/331, 30 March 2001, this report and other UN documents cited are available on http://www.un.org]
[Source: United Nations, S/2009/277, 29 May 2009; available on http://www.un.org/]
[See also The Law of Non-International Armed Conflicts, VIII. Who Is Bound by the Law of Non-International Armed Conflicts?]
Other initiatives include those of my Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict with respect to ending the recruitment and use of children by armed groups. Another specific and successful example is the Geneva Call Deed of Commitment, which seeks to end the use of anti-personnel mines by armed groups [See Geneva Call, Puntland State of Somalia adhering to a total ban on anti-personnel mines]. To date, 38 groups have signed the Deed and have, for the most part, refrained from using anti-personnel mines, cooperated in mine action in areas under their control and destroyed stockpiles.
[Though some references to the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols are mentioned below, you may also find information to answer these questions in, inter alia, the Statute of the International Criminal Court [see The International Criminal Court], the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol [available at http://www.unhcr.org], and the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict [see Optional Protocol on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict]]
From the point of view of international law, what is the status of armed groups? Are they subjects of international law? Are they at least subjects of IHL? Does such status confer any legitimacy upon them? Do negotiations or talks with armed groups confer on them a specific legal status or provide them with some kind of legitimacy? What does IHL say about the legal status of armed groups? (GC I-IV, common Art. 3; P II, Art. 3)
Why are armed groups bound by the IHL of non-international armed conflicts? How can an armed group express its intention to comply with the rules of IHL in international or non-international armed conflicts? For them to be bound, is an expression of their willingness to that effect necessary? If not, why would it nevertheless be useful to obtain their commitment? (GC I-IV, common Art. 3; P I, Art. 96(3))
What are the rules of IHL concerning the civilian population’s right to receive humanitarian assistance? What are the specific rules concerning the access of humanitarian organizations to vulnerable populations? The protection of humanitarian staff and vehicles? In international armed conflict? In non-international armed conflict? (GC I, Arts 19-26, 33-37, 39-43 and 53-54; GC II, Arts 22-27, 34 and 36-43; GC IV, Arts 18, 21-23, 55-56 and 59; P I, Arts 12-16, 18, 21-23 and 69-70; P II, Arts 9-12 and 18(2))
Is the deliberate starving of civilians forbidden by IHL? In international armed conflicts? In non-international armed conflicts? Is it a war crime? A crime against humanity? (P I, Art. 54; P II, Art. 14)
How does IHL protect internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees? Are the rules the same for international and non-international armed conflicts? Can a fighter be granted refugee status? A fighter who has never committed violations of IHL? Who is responsible for granting refugee status? (GC IV, Arts 23 and 35-46; P I, Arts 70 and 73)
(2001 Report, paras 38-45 and Recommendation 8) Taking into account the important role of certain media in warfare, would you consider media infrastructures as legitimate military targets? Only if that media organization is spreading hate and inciting violence? Who can decide if a media organization is “hate media”? What about the staff working in “hate media” inciting the commission of acts of violence? Are they legitimate targets? What about genuine journalists who are doing their job in a conflict situation? What is the status of those journalists, in general, under IHL? Is their protection under IHL sufficient? (GC III, Art. 4(A)(4); P I, Arts 52 and 79)
(2001 Report, paras 59-60) What protection does IHL provide for women and children? In international and non-international armed conflict? What are the specific rules concerning child recruitment and child soldiers? What kind of rules could increase their protection? (GC I, Art. 12; GC II, Art. 12; GC III, Arts 14, 25, 88, 97 and 108; GC IV, Arts 14, 16-17, 21-27, 38, 50, 76, 82, 85, 89, 91, 94, 97, 124, 127 and 132; P I, Arts 70 and 75-78; P II, Arts 4, 5(2) and 6(4))
Does IHL provide for amnesty? In what circumstances? Is amnesty acceptable for grave breaches of IHL? If not, then for what type of crimes? How would you classify illegal behaviour for which amnesty can be granted, and for which it cannot? (P II, Art. 6(5))