Ezequiel Heffes, Marcos D. Kotlik & Manuel J. Ventura (eds), International Humanitarian Law and Non-State Actors (TMC Asser Press, 2020)

This edited volume challenges the traditional approach to international law by concentrating on international humanitarian law and placing the focus beyond States: it reflects on current legal, policy and practical issues that concern non-State actors in and around situations of armed conflict.

With the emergence of the nation-State, international law was almost entirely focused on inter-State relations, thus excluding - for the most part - non-State entities. In the modern era, such a focus needs to be adjusted, in order to encompass the various types of functions and interactions that those entities perform throughout numerous international decision-making processes.

The contributions that comprise this volume are oriented towards a broad readership audience in the academic and professional fields related to international humanitarian law, international criminal law, international human rights law and general public international law.

Ioana Cismas & Ezequiel Heffes, “Not the Usual Suspects: Religious Leaders as Influencers of International Humanitarian Law Compliance”, Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, Vol. 22, 70 Years Geneva Conventions: Past, Present and Future (2020), pp. 125-150

Abstract:

It is undeniable that the effectiveness of international humanitarian law (IHL) faces challenges from different quarters. To address these, humanitarian organizations have, in the main, pursued a direct engagement strategy with the parties to a conflict. Although this has remained the dominant strategy to date, in the last two decades the humanitarian sector has, on an ad hoc basis and without the benefit of a solid evidence base, engaged other societal actors identified as having the potential to influence parties to armed conflict, and among them religious leaders. This chapter addresses the role of these leaders in influencing compliance (or lack thereof) with IHL by States and non-State armed groups. In particular, two issues are explored: (1) what makes religious leaders influential among their constituencies, and (2) how can they be useful actors to increase respect for IHL in armed conflict?

The accepted version of the article can be consulted here.

Ioana Cismas, “Reflections on the Presence and Absence of Religious Actors in Transitional Justice Processes: On Legitimacy and Accountability” in Roger Duthie and Paul Seils (eds) Justice Mosaics: How Context Shapes Transitional Justice in Fractured Societies (ICTJ, 2017), pp. 302-343

Abstract:

This chapter explores the relation between religious actors and transitional justice. It finds that the roles of religious actors in repression or conflict, as victims of, complicit in, or perpetrators of abuse, will likely affect the roles they assume in transitional justice processes as advocates, agents, or spoilers thereof or, indeed, their absence from such initiatives. The linking of the period to be redressed to the period of redress also suggests that the roles of religious entities in the former may influence the form of justice they pursue and the precise measures they advocate, which may include truth-seeking initiatives, but also criminal prosecutions, vetting, and property restitution. This linking of periods also reveals that, in addition to a religious logic of forgiveness, more mundane aspects, such as economic and political interests, may drive religious actors’ actions in transitional justice contexts. The chapter concludes that religious actors are called upon to participate in state-sanctioned transitional justice because of their capacity to lend their ‘special’ legitimacy to such initiatives; however, at stake is not a one-sided process of legitimation, but a dual process whereby religious actors are perceived as legitimate, or not, by reference not only to their religious integrity but also in terms of their own adherence to human rights and humanitarian law standards. In other words, it is the accountability of religious actors which sets the limit of their involvement in transitional justice as a measure of effectiveness.

Ioana Cismas & Ezequiel Heffes, “Can religious leaders play a role in enhancing compliance with IHL?”, Humanitarian Law & Policy, 2017, available here.

In this article published on the ICRC’s Humanitarian Law & Policy blog, Cismas and Heffes explore the role of religious leaders in enhancing compliance with international humanitarian law, as well as the opportunities and challenges faced by humanitarian organisations when engaging with them.