Not the Usual Suspects: Religious Leaders as Influencers of International Humanitarian Law Compliance

TY - JOUR

T1 - Not the Usual Suspects: Religious Leaders as Influencers of International Humanitarian Law Compliance

AU - Cismas, Ioana

AU - Heffes, Ezequiel

N1 - This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details.

PY - 2020/12/1

Y1 - 2020/12/1

N2 - 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?

AB - 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?

KW - international humanitarian law

KW - religious leaders

KW - compliance

KW - legitimacy

U2 - 10.1007/978-94-6265-399-3_6

DO - 10.1007/978-94-6265-399-3_6

M3 - Article

SN - 1389-1359

VL - 22

SP - 125

EP - 150

JO - Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law

JF - Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law

ER -