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International Humanitarian Law and Non-State Actors

Series: Global Ethics Corner
From: Carnegie Council
Length: 00:02:00

Should non-state armed groups be excluded from the formal realm of international humanitarian law? Should they be held to the same standards as states during warfare? What is the proper mechanism for enforcing the rules of war without lending non-state actors legitimacy? Read the full description.

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Created and managed by Carnegie Council Senior Program Director and Senior Fellow William Vocke, Global Ethics Corner is a weekly 2 minute segment devoted to newsworthy ethical issues.

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Piece Description

Created and managed by Carnegie Council Senior Program Director and Senior Fellow William Vocke, Global Ethics Corner is a weekly 2 minute segment devoted to newsworthy ethical issues.

Transcript

Today, most armed conflicts are not between states. Now, other groups are significant combatants and wars are fought between internationally recognized governments and non-state actors.

Examples range from African civil wars to NATO and the Afghan government vs. the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

International Humanitarian Law, based historically in The Hague and Geneva Conventions, outlines appropriate conduct for wars, including internationally recognized norms that protect civilians, prisoners of war, and casualties. However, the Geneva Conventions, universally ratified by states, are not formally issued to non-state combatants.

Many argue that international humanitarian law should be extended to all combatants, due to the changing nature of armed conflict and the responsibility to protect.

Others resist engaging armed non-state actors, and believe that these combatants gain legitimacy if...
Read the full transcript

Additional Credits

William Vocke- Producer, Program Director, Writer and Voice Talent
Deborah Carroll- Production Manager
Julia Kennedy- Content Editor, Producer/Host of Advocates for Ethics in Business
Robert Smithline- Editor
Terence Hurley- Editor
Ina Pira- Media Coordinator

Related Website

www.carnegiecouncil.org