Zersplitterung von bewaffneten Gruppen im humanitären Völkerrecht

Abstract

It is now uncontroversial that the applicability of international humanitarian law of non-international armed conflicts requires an organised armed group and sufficiently intense violence. However, the proliferation of fragmented armed groups with fluid organisational structures has complicated the assessment of these thresholds and the determination of the applicability of IHL in contemporary armed conflicts. This article examines four types of fragmented armed groups to highlight these intricate challenges, namely: coalitions of armed groups, disintegrated armed groups, splinter armed groups, and community-embedded armed groups. To flesh out the challenges, case studies of contemporary armed conflicts are discussed. The solution offered for the challenges by this article is two-fold. First, the paper points out situations that may or may not require the (re)assessment of the intensity and organisation thresholds of non-international armed conflicts. Second, an existing doctrinal framework, the ‘support-based approach’, is discussed as a potential recourse.