What is a armed conflict?
An armed conflict arises whenever there is fighting between States or protracted armed violence between government authorities and organized armed groups or just between organized armed groups. An international armed conflict arises when one State uses armed force against another State or States.
What is an armed conflict in international law?
An international armed conflict occurs when one or more States have recourse to armed force against another State, regardless of the reasons or the intensity of this confrontation. No formal declaration of war or recognition of the situation is required.
How do you classify an armed conflict?
Two categories of armed conflict are identified under the existing treaty regime: international armed conflicts (IAC) occurring between two or more States; and (b) non-international armed conflicts (NIAC) which occur between State and non-governmental armed groups, or only between armed groups.
What is armed conflict and violence?
A 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.
What is the Geneva Convention?
The Geneva Conventions are a series of treaties on the treatment of civilians, prisoners of war (POWs) and soldiers who are otherwise rendered hors de combat (French, literally “outside the fight”), or incapable of fighting. This convention produced a treaty designed to protect wounded and sick soldiers during wartime.
What causes armed conflict?
Bad economic conditions seem to be a main cause for internal conflicts. Repressive political systems, especially if they are in a state of transition, are war-prone. Degradation of renewable resources (erosion, deforestation, scarcity of water) may contribute to the possibility of armed conflict.
What is international armed conflict and non international armed conflict?
International armed conflicts involve sovereign states. In contrast, non-international armed conflicts involve states and organized armed groups.
Is armed conflict the same as war?
International law, which uses the words “armed conflict” instead of “war,” applies whether states are fighting each other or against “non-state actors,” such as terrorist groups, although terrorists by definition do not follow the rules. The law recognizes the possibility of civilian casualties.
Does Geneva Convention apply to non international armed conflict?
Non-international armed conflicts are provided for and governed by Common Article 3 to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and by the Additional Protocol II of 1977 to the Geneva Conventions, which contains twenty-eight articles that complete the guarantees of Common Article 3 for the victims of non-international armed …
What are the main causes of armed conflict?
A very general conclusion from all this could be drawn as follows: • Poor economic conditions are the most important long-term causes of intra-state armed conflicts today; • Repressive political systems are also war-prone, especially in periods of transition; • Degradation of renewable resources (specifically soil …
What caused the Geneva Convention?
The development of the Geneva Conventions was closely associated with the Red Cross, whose founder, Henri Dunant, initiated international negotiations that produced the Convention for the Amelioration of the Wounded in Time of War in 1864.
What is against the Geneva Convention?
Grave breaches of the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions include the following acts if committed against a person protected by the convention: willful killing, torture or inhumane treatment, including biological experiments. willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health.
What is the Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilians?
The Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of August 12, 1949 Civilians in areas of armed conflict and occupied territories are protected by the 159 articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
What are the Articles of Law of the Geneva Convention?
articles of law—known as the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949. The Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005 supplement the Geneva Conventions. The Geneva Conventions apply in all cases of declared war, or in any other armed conflict between nations. They also apply in cases where a nation is partially or totally occupied by soldiers
What is the 4th Geneva Convention in simple terms?
The Fourth Geneva Convention The Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of August 12, 1949 Civilians in areas of armed conflict and occupied territories are protected by the 159 articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
How did the Geneva Conventions affect the world?
In the two decades that followed the adoption of the Geneva Conventions, the world witnessed an increase in the number of non-international armed conflicts and wars of national liberation. In response, two Protocols Additional to the four 1949 Geneva Conventions were adopted in 1977.