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Legal Obligations of Non-state Armed Groups and Sustainable Development Goal 16

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Part of the Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals book series (ENUNSDG)

Synonyms

Armed non-state actors; Armed opposition groups; De facto authorities; Dissident armed forces; Insurgents; Nongovernmental armed groups; Non-state parties to conflict; Organized armed groups; Rebel groups

Definition

“Non-state armed groups” may include partially recognized states or de facto authorities; national liberation movements; other armed groups which oppose state authority; paramilitary groups with some level of state support; terrorist groups; vigilante groups or territorial gangs (Bellal 2018a).

This entry focuses on non-state armed groups participating in armed conflicts, and particularly those groups which are subject to international humanitarian law (IHL) – that is, the field of international law regulating the conduct of armed conflict and the protection of persons not participating.

Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions (1949) sets out the minimum IHL obligations of all parties to a non-international armed conflict (i.e., conflict in which at least one...

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Casalin, D. (2021). Legal Obligations of Non-state Armed Groups and Sustainable Development Goal 16. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Brandli, L., Lange Salvia, A., Özuyar, P.G., Wall, T. (eds) Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71066-2_85-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71066-2_85-1

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