Armed Groups: Approaches to Influencing Their Behaviour
ENDS & MEANS: HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACHES TO ARMED GROUPS, ICHRP, 2006
90 Pages Posted: 20 Feb 2010
Date Written: 2006
Abstract
Armed groups are active in numerous civil conflicts. Considered “terrorists” by some and “liberation fighters” by others, such groups have been responsible for serious abuses of human rights.
These abuses primarily affect civilians but they raise many concerns for organisations that work for peace, protect human rights, or provide humanitarian relief. What can be done to influence the behaviour of armed groups? What obstacles face those who try to take action? What factors make an armed group more or less likely to respect human rights and humanitarian norms? Ends and Means: Human Rights Approaches to Armed Groups suggests a framework for analysing how to encourage armed groups to respect human rights.
Keywords: human rights, armed conflict, armed groups, humanitarian norms
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