Towards international human rights law applied to armed groups

Abstract

This lecture explores the place of justice, accountability and remedies in the global agenda against terror, illustrated by a case study on Iraq and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL.) The two international regimes traditionally applicable to the acts of armed groups, including ‘‘terrorist groups’’, are international criminal law and international humanitarian law. The lecture argues that they carry each strong limitations, such as those related to the ‘‘armed conflict’’ nexus requirement. This lecture shows that a third regime, international counter-terrorism, has developed over the last two decades and become the de facto legal regime for armed non-State actors. This regime has displaced and weakened international humanitarian and criminal law while further eroding victims’ protection and accountability. The lecture further suggests that all three legal frameworks fail to capture the nature of control exercised by armed groups such as ISIL, and the extent of their functions, including those amounting to governance. The lecture argues that such functions can best be apprehended through international human rights law (IHRL). Tracing armed groups’ human rights obligations and legal personality to treaty and customary law, the lecture concludes with proposals to hold armed groups accountable under IHRL as well as possible approaches to strengthen accountability for crimes committed by ISIL.