Call for Papers:
Generating Respect Conference, 8-10 December 2021

The Generating Respect Project invites paper submissions for the conference Religious Actors & Humanitarian Norms Compliance in Armed Conflict: Roles, Influence, Engagement that will take place online between 8 and 10 December 2021.

The conference will take stock of important developments relating to the engagement between humanitarians and religious actors aimed at generating greater respect for humanitarian norms in times of armed conflict. It seeks to serve as a platform for exchange and reflection among scholars from across various disciplines, humanitarian practitioners, and religious actors.

The call for papers provides information about the thematic foci of the conference, its format, guidelines and deadlines for submission of abstracts and selected papers, and publication plans.

Please submit paper abstracts of up to 500 words & a short CV with your current affiliation to generatingrespectproject@york.ac.uk 
by 1 September 2021. 

Documentary:
Solidarity Crime. The borders of democracy wins festival awards

The Generating Respect Project is pleased to announce that "Solidarity Crime. The borders of democracy" a documentary film written, filmed and produced by our own Nicolás Braguinsky Cascini and the social anthropologist,  Juan Pablo Aris Escarcena was awarded the jury and audience prizes at the International Film Festival "Tulipani di Seta Nerea" 2021 in Rome. 

Filmed in France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Morocco and narrated by migrants and those who have shown solidarity with them, the documentary asks:  is helping another human being a crime?

The film aims to raise awareness and generate debate around the criminalisation of actions of solidarity towards migrants across Europe. As Nicolás and Juan Pablo note: “The criminalization that is happening has been silenced and it is necessary to denounce it. Solidarity can not be a crime.”

Online Blog Post:
Stranded by a pandemic and a political crisis: Fighting for democracy in Myanmar from afar

Khin, an associate researcher with the Generating Respect Project at the University of York reflects on the democracy protests in Myanmar in a blog post co-written with Pauline Canhan, co-editor of Human Rights Centre Blog at the University of Essex.

In Myanmar, civil disobedience and widespread resistance in the form of mass public protests, candlelight vigils, and the clanging of pots and pans are the people’s response to the military overthrow of the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. In the UK, members of the Burmese diaspora joined peaceful protests lighting candles and reading poems for the victims of the violence in Myanmar. A petition urges the UK Government to support Burmese students left stranded in the UK by both the pandemic and the political upheaval in Myanmar.

As Khin notes:

“For me and many other Burmese students already stranded in the UK due to Covid-19, Myanmar’s military coup has put indefinite hold on our chances of returning home. Now stuck in limbo, and struggling with the uncertainty of our own situation and the plight of our families back home, we are using our voices to contribute to the fight for democracy and human rights in our country.”

ASIL Annual Meeting Panel:
There and Back Again: How to Ensure Compliance with IHL by Relying on Non-Traditional Voices and Live to Tell the Tale

The International Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, and Criminal Justice track of the 2021 American Society of International Law annual meeting features the panel session ‘There and Back Again: How to Ensure Compliance with IHL by Relying on Non-Traditional Voices and Live to Tell the Tale’

24 March 2021, 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM (EST) Register here.

“The application of international law in conflict settings faces several challenges, which can be linked to systemic and institutional reasons, such as the adherence of the applicable legal framework(s) by non-State armed groups (NSAGs) and the lack of appropriate organizational structures and resources allowing the parties, be they States or NSAGs, to fully implement their obligations. Improving compliance with humanitarian norms is therefore at the top of the international community's agenda. In this context, although there are 'traditional' sets of binding rules applicable to the parties, there are also 'non-traditional' actors and sources that influence their behaviors in the battlefield, such as religious leaders, non-governmental organizations, women leaders, and local and community stakeholders among others. These perspectives can lead to creative approaches to compliance with IHL and greater protections for civilian populations. Additionally, the ICRC, in its most recent updated commentary on the Third Geneva Convention, has included gender perspectives on IHL and international human rights law standards that can apply during armed conflicts. This panel will address some of these voices and perspectives to highlight good practices for compliance generation.”

The panel will be moderated by Dr Ioana Cismas, PI Generating Respect Project from the University of York Center for Applied Human Rights and will include three speakers from the project’s Advisory Board: Mr Pascal Bongard, Geneva Call, Professor Tanisha Fazal, University of Minnesota, Dr Nontando Habede, St. Augustine College, as well as Mr Jean-Marie Henckaerts, International Committee of the Red Cross.

Briefing Note:
Inviting non-state armed groups to the table: Inclusive strategies towards a more fit for purpose international humanitarian law

Ezequiel Heffes, Thematic Legal Adviser at Geneva Call and Co-investigator of the Generating Respect Project and Jonathan Somer from the Danish Red Cross published a report for the Overseas Development Institute and the Centre for the Study of Armed Groups on the role played by non-state armed groups in humanitarian norm development processes.

Millions around the globe are affected by the actions of non-state armed groups (NSAGs). Like states, NSAGs are bound by international humanitarian law (IHL) and are addressed by other nonbinding normative standards aimed at mitigating the harmful effects of armed conflict. Although a consensus is emerging on the importance of engaging NSAGs on these rules, they have not been included as participants in the processes that lead to rule development.

NSAGs participation in such normative processes is important for two main reasons, despite concerns of ‘legitimisation’. First, a self-regulatory compliance system such as IHL can only be fit for purpose if it is based on an understanding of the perspectives of the actors it regulates and the realities they face. Second, decades of experience and some evidence underscore that a sense of ownership of norms can be an important factor in securing NSAGs’ compliance.

This Brief proposes a strategic model aimed at the progressive inclusion of NSAGs in humanitarian norm development processes. At the very least, processes should consult NSAGs. Outcome documents, where appropriate, should not just address ‘states’, but ‘parties to the conflict’ (or similar) so that they can be endorsed by NSAGs. The model addresses potential sources of state opposition or apprehension and encourages the international community to find new ways of approaching these tensions and dilemmas.

HILAC Lecture and Book Launch:
International Humanitarian Law and Non-State Actors

On 3 November 2020, Ezequiel Heffes, co-investigator of the Generating Respect Project, together with Marcos D. Kotlik and Manuel J. Ventura launched their co-edited volume International Humanitarian Law and Non-State Actors at the Hague Initiative for Law and Armed Conflict Lecture organised by the T.M.C. Asser Institute.

“In recent times, international armed conflicts have declined in frequency, while non-international armed conflicts have increased and are now consistently in the majority. From armed conflicts in Syria to those of the Sahel region, Yemen, Ukraine, Colombia and Afghanistan, international humanitarian law (IHL) has long recognized the roles that multiple non-state actors play (such as non-State armed groups, individuals, the UN through its different agencies, the ICRC, humanitarian NGOs and human rights bodies) through interactions among themselves and with States on a daily basis and for a myriad of different reasons.

Ezequiel Heffes, Marcos D. Kotlik and Manuel J. Ventura explored some of these interactions in their co-edited volume International Humanitarian Law and Non-State Actors (Asser Press). In the presence of the editors and some of the book’s authors, this HILAC lecture was an occasion to celebrate the publication of their book. We discussed real-life challenges presented by non-state actors in conflict settings, and how (and to what extent) we can address them to affect the resolution of practical and theoretical problems in the realm of IHL.”

Online Conference Presentation:
Religious Leaders’ Influence on Parties to Armed Conflict: Reflexive Early Considerations on the Design and Implementation of the Generating Respect Project

Her presentation noted the scarcity of legal scholarship on religious leaders as influencers of humanitarian norm-compliance. At the same time, there is an increased interest and indeed engagement of humanitarian organisations with religious leaders in conflict situations. As such, empirical findings and conceptualisations of the role of religious leaders in times of war are much needed. 

Dr Cismas explained how the Generating Respect Project seeks to broaden the definitional scope of religious leadership by paying particular attention to informal affiliation to religion and collective forms of leadership. This demarche has a dual-purpose. First, the definition employed seeks to faithfully capture all the forms of leadership encountered on the ground in the project’s case study countries - Colombia, Libya, Mali, and Myanmar - and in other conflict settings. Second, it aims to correct for intra- and extra- religious exclusionary patterns, which manifest themselves, generally, in respect to women and minorities. Finally,  Dr Cismas reflected on project findings that suggest that the influence of religious leaders on armed actors is a relational process shaped by intrinsic factors to both religious leaders and armed actors (e.g. organisational structure, financing, ideology, religious, social and ethnic background, communication channels, perception of the opponent, position on IHL/IHRL norms, patterns of violations) and external factors (e.g. type of conflict, applicability & clarity of IHL/IHRL norms, conflict dynamics, security situation, societal position/perception of religious leaders and armed actor, involvement of third parties).

New Publication:
The Generating Respect Project contributes to the Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law

Ioana Cismas and Ezequiel Heffes, the coordinators of the Generating Respect Project, contribute to the Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law Vol. 22: 70 Years Geneva Conventions: Past, Present and Future.

Titled “Not the Usual Suspects: Religious Leaders as Influencers of International Humanitarian Law Compliance”, their article presents conceptual and empirical reflections on the roles played by religious leaders in times of armed conflict.

Concerned with how religious leaders influence State and non-State parties to armed conflict to respect or violate international humanitarian law, the work explores in particular: 1) what makes religious leaders influential among their constituencies, and 2) how can they be useful in the process of compliance-generation with humanitarian norms.