Children and Armed Conflict »
Roberta Arnold
1 Armed conflict (Armed Conflict, Internal Armed Conflict, International Armed Conflict, Non-International) holds children captive at both ends of the gun: as victims and as perpetrators of crimes committed in relation to the hostilities. In the attempt to address the need to protect children in armed conflict (Children, International Protection), the international community has enacted several instruments, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (‘CROC’). The most recent instrument is the Optional Protocol to the CROC on the involvement...
Civil Defence »
Roberta Arnold, Dominik Zimmermann
1 The concept of civil defence in international law encompasses functions meant to protect the civilian population against the dangers resulting from hostilities or natural disasters, to help it to recover from the immediate negative effects thereof, as well as to provide the conditions necessary for its survival.2 Although the performance of civil defence functions may become relevant both in times of peace and in times of armed conflict, the central aim of the concept is to mitigate the loss, damage and suffering inflicted on the civilian population by...
Flags of Truce »
Roberta Arnold
1 A flag of truce is a white flag carried or exhibited by one of the hostile parties. The so-called parlementaire, being the person who carries the flag, enjoys protection. The necessities of war have always compelled the warring parties to deal with each other with some formality. Custom established the use of the white flag by those authorized by one of the parties to enter into negotiation with the adversary. Art. 23 (f) Hague Regulations respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, annexed to Convention (II) with Respect to the Laws and Customs of War on...
