The level of intensity of the violence is determined in light of indicators such as the duration and gravity of the armed clashes, the type of government forces involved, the number of fighters and troops involved, the types of weapons used, the number of casualties and the extent of the damage caused by the fighting. The fulfilment of these criteria is determined on a case-by-case basis, by weighing up a number of factual indicators. IHL requires that two criteria be met for there to be a non-international armed conflict: the armed groups involved must show a minimum degree of organization and the armed confrontations must reach a minimum level of intensity. What criteria must be met for there to be an armed conflict? IHL imposes obligations on both sides of the conflict equally, though without conferring any legal status on the armed opposition groups involved. The existence of a non-international armed conflict triggers the application of international humanitarian law (IHL), also known as the law of armed conflict, which sets limits on how the parties may conduct hostilities and protects all persons affected by the conflict. In contrast to an international armed conflict, which opposes the armed forces of States, in a non-international armed conflict at least one of the two opposing sides is a non-State armed group. Typology of armed conflicts in international humanitarian law: legal concepts and actual situations, Sylvain Vité, IRRC 873.How is the term 'Armed Conflict' defined in international humanitarian law?.When does a situation of violence become a non-international armed conflict and why does the classification matter?Ī non-international (or 'internal') armed conflict refers to a situation of violence involving protracted armed confrontations between government forces and one or more organized armed groups, or between such groups themselves, arising on the territory of a State.

Kathleen Lawand, the outgoing head of the ICRC unit that counsels on the law applying in the armed conflicts and other situations of violence in which the ICRC conducts its humanitarian activities, responds to some recurring questions on the legal classification of non-international armed conflicts. 'Among the rules that the parties to an armed conflict must respect when conducting hostilities, there is the prohibition of direct attacks against civilians and of indiscriminate attacks the obligation to respect the principle of proportionality in attacks and the obligation to take all feasible precautions so as to avoid as far as possible civilian casualties.' Interview What is a non-international armed conflict?

Number of armed conflict by type