Blog Symposium on Norm-Compliance in Armed Conflict: New Avenues to Generate Respect for Humanitarian Norms

Posted on 2 November 2020

As violations of international humanitarian law and human rights in times of armed conflict persist, generating respect for international law in conflict settings is at the top of humanitarian practitioners' agenda and at the heart of legal scholarship. This blog symposium responds to the necessity to reflect on novel avenues of compliance generation and aims to showcase innovative thinking in this field.

Organised by Ioana Cismas (York Law School & Centre for Applied Human Rights) and Ezequiel Heffes (Geneva Call), the symposium is jointly hosted by Opinio Juris and Armed Groups and International Law between 19 October - 23 October 2020.

The contributions are written by renowned scholars and experienced practitioners. They include depictions of institutional practices, explorations of the changing understanding of the relationship between the applicable legal frameworks and non-state armed groups and less-conventional approaches to norm-compliance, such as the role of emotions in international humanitarian law, civilian self-protection, and the action of African women’s theologians in dismantling patriarchal structures in war and peace times. Finally, an article written by researchers on the ESRC-funded Generating Respect Project led by the University of York examines the role of religious leaders in influencing States and non-State armed groups’ behaviours in the conduct of hostilities.