Event information

27 June 2018, 12:45-14:15

Downloads

Flyer >

Assessing Grounds for the Use of Force in Non-International Armed Conflict: What Legal Framework?

Geneva Academy Talks

Libya, Fighters are seen in a house during an attack against militants. Libya, Fighters are seen in a house during an attack against militants.

From Syria to Mali, Afghanistan and Yemen, the majority of today’s armed conflicts are non-international in character. In many cases, they involve the use of force by a state or states against external non-state groups. Despite the prevalence of such campaigns, the rules governing them, and in particular the legal regime applying to targeting and detention, continue to be disputed.

Once the threshold of armed conflict is crossed, is international humanitarian law the only branch of international law that applies to limit states’ actions in targeting or detaining members of armed groups? Or does international human rights law impose additional restrictions on states’ actions?

This panel will consider the legal framework for assessing the lawfulness of the use of force in non-international armed conflicts with regard to members of armed groups and how this relates to current state practice.

Moderator

  •  Annyssa Bellal, Strategic Adviser on International Humanitarian Law and a Senior Research Fellow, Geneva Academy

Panelists

  • Anthony Dworkin, Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations
  • Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer, Director, Institute for Strategic Research (IRSEM), Ecole Militaire, France
  • Marco Sassoli, Professor of International Law, University of Geneva

About IHL Talks

The IHL Talks are series of events, hosted by the Geneva Academy, on international humanitarian law and current humanitarian topics. Every two months, academic experts, practitioners, policy makers and journalists discuss burning humanitarian issues and their regulation under international law.

Video

Assessing Grounds for the Use of Force in Non-International Armed Conflict: What Legal Framework?

In this IHL Talk, panelists discussed the rules for military actions versus members of armed groups in non-international armed conflicts and how this relates to current state practice armed non-state actors

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

Mô Bleeker News

UNSG Special Adviser Mô Bleeker Becomes Senior Fellow at the Geneva Academy

15 April 2025

Mô Bleeker, UNSG Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, shares how her work as Senior Fellow at the Geneva Academy contributes to our shared goals.

Read more

IHL Lab Geneva Academy News

Addressing Compliance Gaps in Arms Transfers - is the Arms Trade above International Law?

28 May 2025

Organized with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva, and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, this event explored legal gaps and accountability failures in global arms transfers.

Read more

A general view of participants during of the 33nd ordinary session of the Human Rights Council. Training

The Universal Periodic Review and the UN Human Rights System: Raising the Bar on Accountability

10-14 November 2025

This training course will explore the origin and evolution of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its functioning in Geneva and will focus on the nature of implementation of the UPR recommendations at the national level.

Read more

A destroyed camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Khor Abeche, South Darfur, Project

Understanding the Relationship between Conflict, Security and the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment

Started in May 2023

This project will develop guidance to inform security, human rights and environmental debates on the linkages between environmental rights and conflict, and how their better management can serve as a tool in conflict prevention, resilience and early warning.

Read more

Online folders Project

Digital Human Rights Tracking Tools and Databases

Started in March 2023

This initiative wishes to contribute to better and more coordinated implementation, reporting and follow-up of international human rights recommendations through a global study on digital human rights tracking tools and databases.

Read more

Cover of the 2023 Geneva Academy Annual Report Publication

Annual Report 2024

published on July 2025

Read more